


How I Met Stephen Strange

by castielfalls



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Inspired by How I Met Your Mother, M/M, Temporary pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2020-11-02 11:51:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 47
Words: 113,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20736767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castielfalls/pseuds/castielfalls
Summary: "Tip the first domino and everything else will fall in place."Tony Stark recounts to his kids years of stories leading up to the day he met their other father, Stephen Strange.





	1. 1x1: 7:30 In The Evening

**Author's Note:**

> Started writing this one because the the other HIMYM-inspired fic I wrote (a much shorter one based on Ted/Victoria that's Thorquill) was SO much fun to write so I decided to try to write a longer version, more like the TV show. It is fully complete.
> 
> There'll be moments here you'll remember from the actual show :) There's also lots of side/temporary pairings, so hopefully we all have some fun with all that. And, also hopefully, you're all in for the long run, because if you're familiar with the show, the stories go on for a WHILE before Tony will actually meet Stephen.
> 
> Please leave kudos and/or comments! It motivates me to keep the story going :) Have fun reading <3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony decides to fall in love and asks a law student out on a date. The night doesn't turn out the way he expected it to.

> "Kids, it's time."
> 
> "Time for what?" Morgan asks as she and her brother, James, sit across from Tony, on the couch.
> 
> "I'm going to tell you an incredible story. The story of how I met your father. Well, your _other_ father. It all began with the first day of the year 1999. I was 23, waiting for my dad to pass down the family company. I was living in New York with my friend Thor, my best friend from three years before. My life was good, but I wanted just a little something more. You know, even when you're as young as 23, when you and all your closest friends are single, it kind of gets you thinking about that kind of thing."

* * *

**JANUARY, 1999**

* * *

Tony slides into his usual booth at the bar just below his apartment, Thor by his side. Thor had moved into Tony's apartment just the year before, in September, but they were had been close friends since they met. Seated across from him were Brunnhilde Valkyrie and Jessica Jones, his other two closest friends in New York.

When Tony bought the apartment, he'd realised there was a pretty good bar just downstairs, and he and Thor began going regularly just to hang out, meet people, maybe even bring home the occasional hook-up. Then they'd met Jessica and Val and started inviting them to the bar too, so it became their usual haunt. It was a nice bar -- the drinks weren't bad, the price was alright, the bartenders were great, and the people were good. It was usually peaceful there, just Tony and his three best friends in the best city in the world, so he loved it there.

"I have an announcement," Tony declares as soon as both him and Thor are seated.

"It better be good," Jessica mutters into her whiskey. "I got up early for this."

"It's 7:30 in the evening," Thor says, confused.

Val nods, "Exactly. Too early. You have her drinking whiskey at 7:30." Jessica grins and high-fives her. They were close friends before meeting Thor and Tony, and it was practically like a package deal. You couldn't have one without the other, so it was good that Thor and Tony wanted both of them as friends.

"I'll make it quick, then," Tony says. "I've decided that I want to settle down."

"I knew it. It wasn't good," Jessica sighs, shaking her head. "I mean, congrats, Tony. But what do you want us to say?" 

Tony shrugs, "I don't know. It felt important. I'm 23 years old, life is short. I need to find someone soon." 

Thor smiles, leaning into the booth, "23's young, Tony. You have all the time in the world to find someone. You don't have to settle down so soon." Val points to Thor to agree silently. Jessica raises her glass in agreement.

"I know 23's early. But, hear me out, maybe I'm just a romantic," Tony grins.

"Okay, then find someone in this bar tonight," Jessica says. "Who knows, maybe they're The One." She says 'The One' with a sarcastic tone, but that's just who she is. They were all used to her unintended meanness. Tony and Val were able to counter it with their own. Thor was simply too gentle to fire back at any of them, but it's why they all love him. 

"Sure," Tony says, standing. "I'll get us some shots." 

"I'll come with you," Val offers, walking with Tony to the bar. After Tony orders some shots, she asks, "Do you really think the person you're going to end up with is in this bar?" 

"I think the world's mysterious. Not everything can be solved with a scientific equation," Tony says. It was true, after all. Sometimes, things just happen because they happen. Not everything had an explanation. 

Val raises an eyebrow, "Normally, you'd say something like 'I can calculate the probability of my potential life partner being in this bar in the next five seconds'."

Tony's lip quirks up into a teasing smile as he says, "The probability's 5 out of 9, actually. I calculated while you were talking."

Val shakes her head, "How did you even do that?"

"Well, we usually stay in the bar for at least 45 minutes. If my life partner is here, they'd have to spend at least 15 minutes in the bar, that's a pretty average time for a bar visit. If we plot that on a graph, 45 minutes by 45 minutes, that's 2025. The two triangles, one for me, one for them, together have an area of 900. So, the probability of us meeting would be 2025-900 divided by 2025, taking us to... 5 out of 9," Tony answers.

"I can't believe you actually explained it," Val says in amazement. "Your brain intrigues me sometimes." 

"I tend to have that effect on people," Tony grins, accepting the shots from the bartender. Tony's intelligence, especially how quickly his brain fires off like that, it amazes Thor and Val a lot. Jessica, not so much, because she was an incredible detective with the NYPD, which meant that her deduction and observations skills were top-notch, so she often noticed things which gave her new information. Though, it didn't stop Jessica from the occasional surprise when Tony solves a complicated science problem in a matter of seconds. 

She leans against the bar-top and says, "Well, 5 out of 9. You think they're here tonight, right now?" 

"I don't know, Val. Probabilities are just probabilities... They're not always reliable," Tony answers, carrying the shots back to the booth where Thor and Jessica were discussing a band they'd discovered recently. "Hey, what are you two talking about?" 

"I saw this band in a Queens bar a while back," Jessica replies. "They call themselves the Heroes for Hire. Members are called Luke and Danny. They make pretty good music. I was sharing a table with this dude who said there isn't much current music he likes, but they were definitely an exception. Val, if that doesn't tell you they're a treasure, I don't know what will." 

> "That man talking about the music at the Queens bar will be important, but more on that later."

"Oh, cool," Val says, sitting back down next to her. "I could see them when they tour." 

> "You know your aunt Val is a talent agent. The three of us used to keep a lookout for small actors or musicians and sent them her way." 

Tony says, once the topic of discussion was no longer on the band in the Queens bar, "So, the probability of my future spouse walking in right now is 5 out of 9. Place your 20 bucks bets."

"I bet they're here," Thor says encouragingly. "And I also bet they're a man."

"Yup, man," Jessica bets, raising a finger. "Not here, though." 

> "We all gave Jessica her 20 bucks years later." 

"Woman, right now," Val bets. 

Tony nods, looking towards the door, "Alright. Next person that walks in, I'll talk to them. Come on, Universe. Give me a sign." The other three watch the door eagerly, trying to see who would win the bet and who Tony would talk to. "Where are you?"

The tapping of a cane against the floor tiles can be heard before the man walks in. He has red glasses and brown hair, dressed in a nice suit. The air around him feels like it makes way as he walks slowly, hand skating across the bar-top surface. 

> "There he was."

The man finds his way to the bar-top and orders a drink. A blonde woman taps his shoulder and greets him, much to his delight.

"I win the bet," Thor says, still staring at the blind man. "But I think the real winner tonight is Tony." 

Tony pushes a $20 bill across the table to him and stands, "I'm going to talk to him." Jessica groans as she and Val hand Thor $20 bills as well.

"I'll talk to the lady," Val says. "So that you can talk to him." 

"Tony, come on," Thor grins, walking towards the man before Tony can say anything. As soon as Val manages to pull the woman's attention away from the man, Thor taps the man's shoulder and says, "Have you met Tony?" He quickly walks back to the booth and Tony shakes his head. 

"You're still standing there, I hope," the man says. He has a soft smile on his face. "Otherwise I'm just talking to myself."

"I'm right here," Tony assures, taking the empty seat next to the man. "What's your name?"

"Matt," he answers. The bartender gives him his drink -- a Scotch.

Tony asks, "What do you do?"

"Law," Matt replies, adjusting his glasses as they were slightly crooked. Tony thinks it's cute. "Trying to become an attorney." 

"Woah, that's awesome," Tony says genuinely.

Matt smiles, a little bashfully, "It's not that cool, I'm just _studying_ it. I graduate from Columbia University next year."

"I think you're going to be a good attorney. Haven't seen you in action in a courtroom yet but I already know I wouldn't want to go against you," Tony says, which makes Matt laugh. His laugh is soft, and yet it was above all the other noise in the bar. Tony turns around to see the blonde woman that had spoken to Matt earlier on. Val is still talking to her, but she looks terrible. "Your friend doesn't look happy."

"She just got dumped so every guy tonight's the enemy," Matt chuckles. "Karen comes on a little strong sometimes."

"You could totally throw a drink in my face if it makes her feel better," Tony offers. He doesn't usually just offer to get a drink thrown in his face, but Matt was pretty and when the universe gives you a sign, you take it.

"She would like that, I think," Matt smiles.

Tony decides to just go for it and asks, "Do you want to have dinner with me on Saturday?" 

"Can't. I've got a _long_ lecture on Friday I need to attend, and I have a lot of assignments to catch up on after that," Matt says, looking a little disappointed. Tony doesn't really want to let this go, especially since Matt seems into him too, so he tries to think of a solution. 

"Long shot. Tomorrow night?" Tony asks. 

Matt pauses, thinking through his schedule, before he smiles, "I'm free. Why not?" He tells Tony his number as Tony keys it into his phone. Once Tony puts his phone back into his pocket, Matt takes the drink and splashes it in Tony's face. Tony stares at him, wiping some of the Scotch off his face as Matt grins, "That was fun."

Tony gives him an astonished look, "How did you aim that so well?"

"I think you'll find that I'm pretty cool," Matt replies, taking his cane and making his way over to Karen. Tony returns to the booth, where Jessica, Val and Thor are waiting.

"I thought it was going fine," Jessica says, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't let that fool you. We're going out tomorrow night," Tony says. "He splashed the drink because I let him, so he could make his friend feel better about being dumped." Thor hands him a tissue and Tony accepted it, wiping his face dry.

Thor grins, "How sweet."

Jessica mutters, "How sickening."

"Anyway, what matters is I've got a date. A super-hot, law student date," Tony smiles. 

> "I did not have a super-hot, law student date." 

Tony calls Matt the next morning, "Hey, it's Tony, from yesterday at the bar?"

"Tony, hey," Matt's voice says from the other end. "I'm so sorry. My lecturer for Law 101 just dropped a surprise quiz for today and tomorrow, and I really need to ace both of these. I'm not going to be able to make it for the date. Rain check?" 

Tony tries to keep the disappointment out of his voice as he replies, "Sure, rain check. You've got my number." 

"Yeah, I'll try to call you back soon about that date," Matt says apologetically. "I'm really sorry. I have to go."

"Good luck. You're gonna destroy those tests," Tony says encouragingly.

Matt laughs at his joke before saying, a little subdued, "Hopefully. Okay, I really have to go now. Bye, Tony." 

"Goodbye, Matt," Tony says. He only brings the phone down to his side once he hears Matt hang up on his end. Thor walks into the living room and notices Tony's fallen expression. 

He asks, "What happened? Don't tell me the water's out again."

Tony shakes his head, sitting down on the couch, "Water's fine. Matt cancelled on me."

"What? Why? I thought he liked you," Thor questions, sitting next to him.

Tony replies, "He had a bunch of tests come out of nowhere and he had to study for them. He told him he'll call me when he can." 

Thor nods, trying to think of how to cheer Tony up. He suggests, "Do you want to get dinner with me instead?" 

Tony smiles, knowing Thor's intentions. He answers, "Of course, Thor." 

> "We had dinner that night. No, Matt never called me back after that. But it's alright. Sometimes, things don't work out. Sometimes, they do but more on that, later. It's the next day that was even worse."

"Oh my God!" Tony shouts, falling off the bed. Thor pulls the blanket up to his chest, eyes wide.

"What the hell did we do last night?" Thor asks, voice barely above a whisper. Tony quickly reaches for his pants, pulling them on as Thor shielded his eyes and looked away. "Tony!"

"Sorry, I'm panicking!" Tony replies. He puts on his jeans and Thor finally puts his hand down, blanket still covering his body. Tony repeats Thor's question, "What did we do?"

Thor buries his face in his hands, mumbling incoherently before he looks up with a bright grin, "So, breakfast?" It catches Tony off-guard, a question he hadn't been expecting. Why isn't he talking about this? You don't ever sleep with your roommate unless you're dating. It's just a recipe for disaster.

"Thor? _What_ \--" 

"I'll make us pancakes. This never happened," Thor says, wrapping the blanket around himself so he can go to his room to get some fresh clothes. Tony sits back down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. They've been living together for two years and counting and _now_ there's a problem? 

"Jesus _Christ_, Tony," he groans to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and/or comments are appreciated, it keeps me motivated! thank you <3


	2. 1x2: The Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica and Val make Tony and Thor settle their awkwardness and Tony visits Knowhere for the first time.

> "Kids, last we stopped, I had a date with your uncle Matt before he had to cancel on me, so Thor offered to step in for dinner instead. But then we got drunk and made a horrible mistake. Thor, always knowing how to handle his problems, snapped straight to --" 

"-- pancakes. This never happened," Thor says, using the blanket to cover up his body as he moved out of Tony's room into his own.

Tony sits down and groans quietly, trying to go through what happened the night before. He remembered the two of them having the dinner he and Matt were supposed to have, then he guesses they had a few drinks too many and now they have this mistake between them. What's worse is Thor seems like he isn't going to talk about it with him anytime soon. Frankly, Tony wasn't looking forward to that conversation either. When he hears two plates get set down outside after twenty minutes, Tony comes out into the living room and is greeted by Thor with a smile, "Pancakes are ready." There's a few awkward moments of silence between them until Thor says, "So, I've been watching this show the past three days. Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It's awesome."

"What's it about?" Tony asks. He's a little put off by how set Thor is on staying firmly off the topic of last night's happenings, but this was probably better than them not talking.

"New York cops and funny antics," Thor answers, taking a bite of his pancakes. "You would like it."

"Oh, maybe I should watch it then," Tony says, and then the conversation slowly dies down, which means the Mistake returned to their minds, and they fall right into silence, the sound of metal cutlery against porcelain plates the only sound in the apartment.

Thor finishes his pancakes and places his plate in the sink, pulling on a black coat, "I'm going to see Loki at his university today, he wanted to grab lunch. I won't be back until, I guess 4PM."

"Sure," Tony nods. "Tell your brother I said hey."

"Will do," Thor replies, just a painful twinge of awkwardness. "And, uh, you're wearing my shirt." Thor closes the door after that, and Tony pulls off the shirt, tossing it onto the couch before going back to his room to get a shirt that actually belonged to him. 

> "While Thor was having lunch with his brother, Loki, he told him about what we did."

"I made a huge mistake," Thor laments as soon as the waiter leaves their table.

Loki rolls his eyes -- he'd come to expect it from Thor. Over the years of their childhood, Thor had never been one to stay out of trouble. He asks, "What did you do?" 

"It's more of a _who_ did I do," Thor answers shamefully. "I hooked up with Tony." 

"You --" Loki cuts himself off, eyes widening in bewilderment. "You said you wouldn't ever hook up with a roommate. What the hell happened?" 

Thor tries to defend himself, "I was drunk!" 

"Well, did you at least talk about it?" Loki asks, raising an eyebrow.

"No."

"No? _No_?" Loki repeats. "Thor! You can't just avoid it. You _live_ with him." 

Thor throws a hand up in exasperation, "You think I don't know that? We had the most awkward breakfast ever? I don't think I've ever eaten faster in my life, I just wanted to get out of there as soon as I could." The waiter returns just then with Loki's order; a delicious bowl of spaghetti. Thor stops talking until the waiter leaves, and he continues, "I just... don't want to."

"Why not?" Loki asks. "Do you plan on being weird around each other forever? Someone is bound to notice eventually. You and Tony are _inseparable_. You two are at the point where if you were to drink from a straw instead of the cup itself, someone would instantly know you haven't seen Tony for three hours." 

> "It was true. Thor and I have been close friends since we met. Val once joked that she often wondered if, if one of us got into a car accident, the other would land in hospital, because she was sure that we were just that connected. But, back to the main point, it was a good point. And your uncle Thor had the perfect answer."

"Yeah. Being weird around each other forever sounds good," Thor nods, smiling up at the waiter as he receives his pizza. 

"You suck," Loki grumbles, spinning his spaghetti around a fork. "You can't dance around this. Jessica or Val will find out eventually." 

> "Loki wasn't wrong. A week after the Mistake, your aunt Jessica dragged me aside to tell me something."

"You slept with Thor," Jessica says in a deadpan manner, crossing her arms over her chest. Tony chuckles nervously, looking out of the kitchen to the living room, where Thor and Val were watching television together. _Had Thor told her? Why would he tell her? Wasn't he the one who decided they would act like it didn't happen? He -- _"I figured it out myself. Thor didn't say a thing," Jessica cuts through his thoughts. "It's obvious as hell. Like the other day..." 

> "The day she would be talking about would be just five days before. We were all at the bar, I had arrived late as I was pretending to be busy with something else so Thor would go downstairs to the bar without me."

"Tony, what was the ride like?" Val asks. Tony almost chokes at the weird question, a vivid scenario painting an image in his mind. "I bet it was rough. I heard it's pretty fast."

Tony tries to fight off any kind of horror off his face as he asks, "What are we talking about?" 

Thor smiles, "Oh, you know." _Know? Know what? Where was the elaboration? Was nobody going to answer him?_

"Did you ride it too?" Jessica asks, eyeing Thor and Tony suspiciously.

Thor laughs, shaking his head as he drinks, "You know I don't do that, Jess."

"Think I have to take a ride on that sometime," Jessica says, a knowing smirk on her face as she glances at Tony, who was practically twitching with bewilderment at this point. 

"_What_ are we talking about?" Tony explodes, unable to take it anymore. Thor and Val raise their eyebrows in response to Tony's strangely vocal confusion. Jessica scoffs quietly into a shot glass. 

Val answers, "The roller coaster that just opened at the amusement park you and Thor went to last weekend? Damn, Tony. Chill." Tony laughs, sounding too close to relief for Jessica to let slide, and she narrows her eyes at him from across the table. 

> "So back to the kitchen conversation with Jessica."

"Okay, fine. We suck at keeping secrets," Tony says. "We agreed not to talk about it." 

"And look how helpful _that's_ been. You two have never been so close," Jessica mutters sarcastically. 

Tony sighs, "Look, neither of us want to talk about it. I'm fine with it. Eventually, we'll move past the awkwardness and get back to an old married couple." 

"If you don't talk to him, I'll _make_ you." 

> "If there's one thing about your aunt Jessica, it's that she always keeps her promises. That said --"

"We're not letting you out there until you define it. Your awkwardness is ruining this for all of us, including you two," Val says from outside the door. Jessica and Val had teamed up to lock Thor and Tony in a room together. 

After ten minutes of bargaining, they realised the two women weren't budging and decided to finally talk about the Mistake. Tony starts, "Okay, we hooked up while we were drunk. It's nothing."

"It's nothing," Thor repeats. "But if it was nothing we wouldn't be here right now."

"Damn it, you're right. Listen, that was a one-time thing. Agreed?" Tony asks, turning back to face Thor, who had found himself a place to sit.

"Agreed."

"So, neither of us are interested in an actual relationship coming out of this. Agreed?" Tony asks once more.

"Agreed."

"Then that settles it? We look past it?" Tony asks finally. Please be yes.

"Didn't I suggest that since we woke up together?" Thor asks, raising an eyebrow. It's true, it was the last thing he said that morning before he ran away to make them pancakes. 

Tony sits down next to him, sighing, "Just... Can we keep what happened in the bed itself a secret between us?"

Thor eyes him for a moment before smiling, bumping Tony's shoulder with his own gently, "I think you kind of exposed yourself with the roller coaster conversation, Tony." Tony fakes offence and shoves Thor, making the other man laugh as insincere apologies tumble out of his lips. 

> "How is this important to the story?" Morgan asks, frowning in confusion.
> 
> "Since you asked, if Thor and I hadn't slept together, avoided each other, making Val and Jessica lock us in a room and repair our friendship, I wouldn't have ended up at the café that had just opened a few blocks away from our apartment, because I wouldn't have been trying to get Thor a cup of coffee on the way home from the library."

Tony slows to a stop outside the new café. Thor and he had been watching the renovations for a few months now, wondering if anything good was going to come out of it. He couldn't believe that construction and furnishing had finally been completed and it had just opened yesterday. The café had been named Knowhere. It's an interesting name; Tony imagined all the confused looks he would get if he told someone he was going to Knowhere.

He pushes the door open, deciding to get Thor and himself some coffee so he could see if the drinks were good and worth the few months they waited. Plus, Thor told him he wanted some coffee and Tony had offered to get him some on the way home. As he waited for his orders to be served, he looks at a stack of flyers placed on the counter. He takes one, a dark grey paper with words in white bold font and reads it. 

Knowhere was looking for a singer, preferably one who could play some sort of instrument, who was available at night to perform as entertainment for late customers. They would be paid $10 an hour, which actually didn't sound too bad. Since it was a 24-hour café, they could play all the way till 7AM if they really wanted to and the pay wouldn't be bad at all.

"Are you interested? Auditions are this Saturday," the cashier tells him as she places the two coffee cups on the counter. Though Tony's singing ability was alright, and he could play the piano, he decides against it.

He places a few dollar bills and shakes his head, "Nah, not my thing. But I'll be sure to come back to check out whoever got the job."

"Of course," the cashier smiles. "Have a great day, sir."

"You too," Tony grins, taking the two coffees and leaving the café. 

> "Thank God I didn't audition for it, because if I had and I'd gotten the job, I'd never have met the person who did. I can't imagine how different it would all have gone if I had gotten the job. I might have never met your father."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and/or comments are appreciated, it keeps me motivated! thank you <3


	3. 1x3: Come Again Soon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor decides to open a café and Tony has an encounter at Knowhere.

> "Two days after Thor tried the coffee from Knowhere, he came up with an idea. At the time, Thor didn't have a stable job, couldn't find anything he truly wanted to do. He did some editing for local writers, helped out at a small bookstore down the street... And because he was good looking enough, occasionally did photoshoots for art students at Loki's university. But with all that work, he still didn't have a stable job." 

Thor announces, taking his seat in their regular booth at the bar, "I'm going to open a café." 

"Was the coffee _that_ good? I thought it was alright," Tony replies, surprised at Thor's enthusiasm. The coffee, while good, wasn't the best Tony has ever had.

"Look, I've been between jobs here and there, and this is the first time I've been excited about an idea for a long time!" Thor explains. "I think it would be fun to run a café." 

Val points out, seeing Thor's side, "Plus, you make really good coffee. Seriously. I stopped buying coffee from stores because yours is way better." Thor gives her a grateful smile. It's true anyway; Thor made awesome coffee. None of them had believed it the first time they were told by Loki, who promised that Thor's coffee is out of this world. The moment Jessica had tried it, she swore that she would never drink anything except cheap alcohol and Thor's coffee.

"Go for it," Jessica says, instantly twice as awake. "What are you gonna name it?"

"I don't know. I wanted to ask you guys for suggestions," Thor says. "Anything come to mind?" Everyone fell into silence, trying to think of a good name for Thor's café. When none of them had any good suggestions after five minutes, they decided to switch topics to Val, who announces that she had checked out Heroes for Hire, the band Jessica saw in Queens. 

"Guess who has that great Harlem band locked in as her client?" Val asks smugly.

Jessica livens up slightly, "They're good, right?" 

"Good? They're amazing!" Val corrects. "That guy you talked to at the concert, I totally owe him for that review he told you. If I ever see him again, I'm buying him a drink." 

> "She did end up buying him that drink, because obviously, we met that man. Well, to be exact, I met that man. It's two months later that I did."

* * *

**MARCH, 1999**

* * *

> "Remember how I saw that flyer for auditions to be the singer at Knowhere for night-time customers? I told the cashier that I would come back to see whoever got the job and I meant it. That evening, I happened to be free. I didn't have any pressing engineering job interviews to get to, so I decided to drop by."

Tony walks into Knowhere, a little bell above the door tinkling like stars. The bell wasn't there the first time he visited. There were other things that weren't there before -- stickers of the solar system on the wall behind the counter, a signboard of the café's name displayed on a shelf near the window, and a blonde man in a red jacket sitting at the corner with a guitar.

The man tunes his guitar, talking quietly to one of the waitresses. Once she goes to the back room, he starts playing a soft tune that Tony recognises as _Annie's Song_ by John Denver. He sings into the small microphone perched on a stand, "_You fill up my senses like a night in the forest. Like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain. Like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean._"

"Can I take your order?" a waiter asks. Tony points out a red velvet cake and hot chocolate, holding up two fingers to indicate two of each, and the waiter leaves as Tony sits down at a table not far from the small stage setup. He was mesmerised by the man's voice, the way it rose and fell so delicately and the way his fingers danced from string to string as the guitar sings a lovely tune.

"_Come, let me love you, let me give my life to you. Let me drown in your laughter, let me die in your arms_..." the man sings. The waitress from earlier had reappeared, watching the singer fondly from the doorway of the back room. Tony can't say he doesn't relate. "_Let me lay down beside you, let me always be with you. Come, let me love you, come love me again..._"

"_Let me give my life to you. Come, let me love you, come love me again_," he sings. While the interlude plays, the waiter returns with the red velvet cake slices and hot chocolate. Tony raises his mug of hot chocolate to his lips as he listens to the man finish the song, "_You fill up my senses like a night in the forest. Like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain... Like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean... You fill up my senses, come fill me again_."

"That was amazing, Peter!" the waitress practically swoons. It's obvious she has a thing for him. He flashes her a grin so charming that Tony's surprised he himself didn't swoon as well. He rests the guitar against the legs of the tall stool he'd been sitting on and walks over to Tony's table.

He smiles, "I hope you don't mind me sitting here."

> "Until now, I still have no idea what made him come to my table. Sure, there wasn't anyone else in Knowhere at the time, but he had no reason to come talk to me. When I asked him, he just said he had to do it." 

Tony shakes his head, holding out a hand to gesture at the empty seat across from him, "Not at all. Want some cake?"

"I love red velvet. You don't mind?" the man asks, sitting down. 

Tony smiles, pushing the other hot chocolate towards him, "They're on me. You're amazing." 

"Thanks for the food and the compliment. It's not like there's a crowd, but thanks," the man chuckles. He blows slightly on the surface of the hot chocolate, the wisps of steam dispersing into the air as his lips made a perfect 'O' shape. He introduces, "My name is Peter Quill." 

"Tony," he replies. "Tony Stark. Where'd you learn to play like that?"

"My mom. She was big on music, so I forced myself to learn guitar so I could play her favourite songs for her," Peter answers. He takes a bite of the cake before he adds on, "Do you play any instrument?" 

Tony nods, "Piano. My mom taught me."

"That's nice. My mom can't play anything, so she gets excited whenever I take out my guitar," Peter laughs fondly. Tony can't help but smile. Peter changes the subject, asking, "What do you do?" 

"Oh, kind of between job interviews right now. I'm an engineer. I can build stuff, have a vision for things, but nobody believes in my ideas, so it's been hard to land a job," Tony answers. "And you're a musician. You always want to do this?" 

Peter shakes his head slightly, glancing momentarily out the window into the starry sky as he says, "I wanted to be an astronaut. I've always been in love with space. But, uh... school didn't work out, so I'm making do with what I've got. It ain't all that bad, actually, but sometimes I wish I was up there instead." 

"I'm sorry about that," Tony says genuinely. "Sometimes we search for one thing but discover another."

"That's true," Peter smiles. "Do you like space?"

"You kidding me? I want to build a suit that lets us go further than this galaxy. I would love to see what's beyond," Tony says excitedly. Peter grins, matching his enthusiasm. 

"It would be so awesome," Peter says, a look of beautiful wonder in his eyes as he looks out the window again. Tony follows his gaze and Peter points out a formation of stars, "That constellation, Andromeda? My favourite."

_He had a favourite constellation? He's so... out of this world_, Tony thinks to himself. Though the conversation hadn't been long, it'd been nice. It helps that he's pretty, but his love for space was definitely cute. Tony asks, a teasing smile on his face, "What if you became an astronaut and you died on a mission?"

"I think I'd be the luckiest man alive," Peter replies. "To die with all those stars and planets around me? I would be lucky to die with the universe saying goodbye." 

"That's a pretty optimistic way to look at it," Tony comments, finishing his cake. Peter had already finished his. 

Peter laughs quietly, "You've got cake on your face." Tony raises a hand to his cheek, trying to get it off. Peter points to his chin, "No, here." Tony follows Peter's direction, still somehow missing it. Peter rolls his eyes and says, "I'll get it for you. Hold still." He leans forward with a tissue, wiping the white icing off Tony's face. Once it's gone, the two of them were left with their faces inches apart. Before they could do anything to close the space between them, the waiter from earlier returns and Peter gets back into his seat.

"If you're done, I'll clear your tableware," the waiter says. Tony nods quickly and the waiter collects the cups, plates and cutlery before leaving.

The two of them laugh, a little embarrassed by the interruption, and Peter stands, saying, "Thanks for the hot chocolate and red velvet cake, Tony. Come again soon."

"Oh, you know quite a bit about space," Tony says. Peter turns around, a questioning look on his face. "My friend Thor wants to start a café, but he can't think of any cool names."

Peter looks up at the ceiling in thought before he answers, "Not exactly space related, but in Norse mythology, the God of Thunder Thor comes from Asgard." 

> "And, as you know, Asgard was the name Thor ended up going with."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and/or comments are appreciated, it keeps me motivated! thank you <3


	4. 1x4: I'm Alright, Thanks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony asks Jessica to visit Knowhere with him and asks Peter out.

> "Last we stopped, I talked to the man who sung at Knowhere. He was perfect and I really wanted to see him again." 

When Tony enters the bar, he sees only Jessica there. She had her NYPD badge on, so it was clear she was on break. Val was probably scouting for new talent to manage and Thor said earlier that he was going to be checking out lots for sale so he could figure out how he wanted to do up his future café. 

He sits down across from her and asks, "How long till your break's over?"

She glances at the clock on her phone and replies, "Ten minutes until I have to leave. Is Thor looking for property?"

"Yeah," Tony says. "What do you think of the name Asgard? For his café."

Jessica frowns in thought before she nods approvingly, "It sounds good. Where'd you get the idea?"

"This super-hot guy at Knowhere suggested it yesterday," Tony answers, leaning across the table with a look on his face that Jessica had come to recognise as 'please come with me'.

"No way."

"Please? I'm thinking of suggesting him to Val. I just want a second opinion just in case I'm compromised," Tony lies. He just really wants to see how Jessica would react to him. 

> "It had become almost like a tradition that Val, Thor and I would get Jessica to meet our potential romantic partners before introducing them to everyone else. While it's partially because of her excellent judge of character and could tell if we would regret the relationship or not, it's also because she's the most cynical of the group and if they got along with her, they'll fit in just fine into our group, which meant they were safe to date. I was really into Peter, so of course, I had to ask Jessica to come with me to see him." 

Jessica grumbles, running her hands through her dark hair before she finally relents, "Fine. But I'm only free on the 22nd." 

"22nd is fine! I'll meet you here at 6:30AM before you go to work," Tony instantly agrees. Jessica mutters to herself as she leaves to go back to her precinct. 

> "Before I tell you about how it went when I introduced Peter to Jessica on the 22nd, I'll tell you about something else. That night, I told Thor about Peter's suggestion for his café name, Asgard. Thor said he loved it, and he'd thrown out the whole list of name ideas he had. He'd put all his faith into a name a complete stranger gave him. It's kind of poetic that he used Asgard, but more on that later. Now, skipping forward to the 22nd. Jessica and I were at Knowhere and Peter was performing. If I recall correctly, the song was --" 

"_Escape (The Piña Colada Song)_ by Rupert Holmes," Peter says into the microphone once he finishes the song. Tony, Jessica, a couple sitting a few tables away and five teenage girls clap for him as he dramatically bows. Tony leads Jessica up to the mini stage as Peter takes a drink of water. Peter lowers the bottle, smiling, "Hey, you."

Jessica narrows her eyes at him, "I know you."

Peter returns the same baffled look before he asks, "Oh yeah, aren't you the girl I shared a table with at the Heroes for Hire show? I told you I didn't like current music but they were an exception." 

> "I said that guy was important, didn't I?"

"You did. Huh," Jessica says, moderately surprised by the coincidence. "Jessica Jones." 

"Peter Quill," Peter replies, a smile on his face. This is perfect; they already knew each other and from the looks of it, Jessica likes him. "Do you have any song requests? The couple over there wanted me to play _Rewind_ by Goldspot."

Jessica shakes her head, "Nah, just came here to check you out. We won't hold you up, play your song."

Peter nods and Jessica and Tony return to their table. Peter clears his throat and says, "This one's for the sweet couple over there. _Rewind_ by Goldspot." He starts strumming, singing along, "_Asking you to stay. The words are finally here. Let's rewind and rewind. You see, you're the only star in the film I never made. Would you rewind it all the time? Rewind it all the time._"

"He's not bad," Jessica says quietly. "Val would like him." Tony smiles, pleased that she likes him.

"_In the driveway, see you pull in. Then my heart stops when you're stalling as if the phone rang. And he's calling, now you're backing up. It's a long way out_," Peter sings.

"He's so awesome," Tony sighs.

Jessica looks up at the ceiling in exasperation, "I knew it. You wanted my approval of him."

"Sorry," Tony says half-heartedly, listening to Peter perform. 

"_See, you're the only star in the film I never made. Would you rewind it all the time? Rewind it all the time_," Peter smiles, strumming happily. He really loves his music. "_Do we make it to the sequel? Second chance for our survival. Oh, we all need a hallmark ending and a change of heart. But it's a long way back, back to what you said._" 

"You have it, by the way," Jessica says. "My approval."

Peter finishes, "_Would you rewind it all the time? Rewind it all the time._"

The couple goes up to give him a few dollar bills as thank you for singing the song before they leave. Once they and the teenage girls leave, knowing it's almost the end of Peter's shift, Tony and Jessica walk up to him.

"I hope I didn't completely suck. I learnt the song just half an hour before you guys came in," Peter says.

"Are you kidding? You were great. Couldn't tell that you didn't know the song," Jessica says, surprised and impressed at Peter's fast music-learning ability. Peter smiles gratefully at the compliment. Jessica says, "I'll leave you two, I want to grab some coffee before I head off to work." 

Tony and Peter watch her walk to the counter and Tony says, "You never fail to amaze me. You're so talented."

Peter grins, rubbing his neck bashfully, "_Eh_, I'm alright, thanks."

"Will you go out with me?" Tony asks. At Peter's slightly stunned expression at the sudden question, Tony adds, "I mean, we did have something between us, right? I didn't imagine it?"

Peter shakes his head, putting the guitar down so he can focus his attention on Tony, "No, you didn't. There's something, but... Listen, Tony. I just got out of a relationship like three weeks ago and I don't really have time to maintain a proper relationship with someone."

"I don't mind," Tony says genuinely.

Peter sighs lightly, in a way that seemed half-endearing, half-something-Tony-can't-read, and says, "Tony. You deserve someone who can actually make time for you. This isn't some elaborate excuse to turn you down. I spend my days busking and my nights at Knowhere. I don't even have time to sleep more than four hours and eat more than two meals a day. I'm just too busy for you, and I know I sound like a total asshole, but it's true. I really wish I wasn't, but I am."

Tony nods in understanding, though he's still disappointed. The second time in the past three months he'd been turned away; first Matt in January and now Peter in March. He asks, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you working so much?"

"Trying to earn more money to put my little sister through school," Peter answers. Just like that, everything snaps in place.

"When you said school didn't work out... Did you drop out so you could pay for her school fees?" Tony asks. Peter slowly nods.

"I'm not proud of it... I mean, I love Mantis and I don't regret doing that. I'd do _anything_ for her to have a good life. But it is so demeaning when I have to explain that I have only elementary school, a year of high school and a year of art school in my education. It's crap on my resumé," Peter says. Tony can see how tired he is.

He assures Peter, "You're a really good brother, and you're doing a great job."

"Thanks," Peter smiles faintly. "I just wish life was easier sometimes."

"If you ever need help with money, you can just ask me. I'm more than willing to help you out. You shouldn't be working this hard, you're gonna work yourself to death," Tony says, a little concerned for Peter's wellbeing. He was slouching just slightly from exhaustion. He obviously hasn't been sleeping or eating a lot. 

Peter shakes his head, "I don't take money from people that I didn't earn. Thank you, though." Tony nods reluctantly, thinking that Peter is not someone whose mind is easily changed.

"I feel kind of bad that I'm so free when you're so busy," Tony laments. 

Peter thinks for a moment before saying, "You said you did engineering, right? Maybe you could build something. I don't know, a robot?"

"Maybe I will," Tony nods, already laying out a blueprint design in his head. "Do you want to name my robot?"

Peter smiles, a teasing expression on his face. Tony feels himself sink deeper into this hole he's dug for himself. Peter says, "Quill."

Tony scoffs, "I don't think the robot's talented enough for that name."

Peter laughs, obviously charmed, "Dummy." 

> "You know our robot as Dum-E."

Peter looks at the clock and says, "Almost time for me to knock off. I hope you don't mind, it's just that this is the only two hours of sleep I can get before five hours on the street."

"No, go ahead," Tony instantly says. "Sorry I've kept you out here." Peter waves as if to say 'don't worry about it', and gets off the stool, preparing to go into the back room. 

"It's _not_ a no, by the way," Peter clarifies. "It's a... If you're single a year or two from now, give me a call?" 

"Sure," Tony says, a little put off by the rejection. Peter gives him an apologetic look, but doesn't say anything else as he takes his guitar, leaving to the back room to clock out. Tony decides that it'll be awkward if he stays any longer so he leaves, not waiting for Peter to say goodbye. 

> "I think, for the most part, if you're really honest with yourself about what you want out of life, life gives it to you... And sometimes, you just have to keep waiting. But that's a story for another time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and/or comments are appreciated, it keeps me motivated! thank you <3


	5. 1x5: We'll Be Surprised

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony makes a new friend at the airport and Thor makes a surprising announcement.

> "After Peter rejected me, he suggested that I build a robot to occupy my time while I didn't have a job yet. I agreed; it was a good idea. He'd unknowingly named my future creation Dum-E. At the time, I was just laying out ideas for his design. I figured it out by end March, and I was ordering components I needed to actually build Dum-E. I had to meet a guy at the airport who was hand-delivering a component I needed."

* * *

**APRIL, 1999**

* * *

Tony waits in the arrival hall, flipping through the pages of his book. The seller told him she was going to be a little late, so he brought along a book to keep him occupied. It was _Partial Differential Equations by _Christopher C. Tisdell. Even though Tony already knew everything in the book by the time he was twelve, it was still fun to read. Someone's luggage rolls over a foot he'd extended across the floor in his lazy sitting position and he jerks his leg back in surprise.

"I didn't see your foot. I'm so sorry," the man says, moving his purple luggage aside. "Are you okay?"

Tony nods, lifting his leg up to look at his foot. His foot didn't feel that bad and his shoe wasn't damaged. Tony assures, "I'm fine. Your luggage is surprisingly not that heavy."

The man smiles, "Just got back from aiding in some chemical studies abroad. Most of the equipment was already there so I didn't bring much other than clothes and money."

Tony returns the grin at the mention of 'chemical studies', lifting his book up so the man can see, "Maybe you can tell me more? I'm Tony Stark."

"Bruce Banner," Bruce introduces, shaking Tony's other hand. "Well, I need to head back to New York, so unless you're going there too..." 

"I live in NYC. We can share a cab back," Tony offers. "Do you mind holding back a little bit, though? I'm waiting on a component."

Bruce shakes his head, sitting down next to Tony, "I don't mind waiting. What's the component for?"

"I'm jumping from job interview to job interview and have all this free time, so my friend suggested I build a robot to pass the time," Tony explains, putting his book down on the empty chair next to him so he can take out his phone, showing Bruce photos he'd taken of his blueprints for Dum-E. 

Bruce takes the phone Tony offers him and zooms in on the photos, reading the notes and contemplating the designs. When he finishes it, he grins, "Your robot looks amazing. I can't wait to see it when it's done."

"Hey, if you give me your number, I could call you when it's done so you can come over to look at him. Or I could text you a picture if you aren't free," Tony suggests. Bruce instantly keys his number into Tony's contacts, excited to see the completed robot.

A woman with white hair dressed in all black walks over to Tony, heels clicking as she hurries her pace. She asks, "You're Tony Stark?" Tony nods and she gives him a parcel, "I'm Felicia Hardy, you bought a component from me. Sorry I'm late."

Tony takes the parcel, handing her an envelope with the payment, "No worries. Thanks for this."

She keeps the envelope in her coat pocket, smiling, "Pleasure doing business, Mr Stark. If you'll excuse me, I have other customers." Tony and Bruce wave goodbye as Felicia walks off and the two men stand, getting ready to hail a cab together. 

It's only after ten minutes into the cab ride that Bruce stops his rambling to ask, "Hey, where's your book?"

Tony checks the cab seats, frowning, "Shit. I think I left it at the airport... Never mind, I'll just get another copy."

> "That's a lie. I never got another copy of the book. But either way, Bruce was interesting, and I thought my friends would like him. So in May, when he could catch a free day, I invited him to meet them."

* * *

**MAY, 1999**

* * *

Tony promises, "You're going to love them. Okay, maybe not, but they're cool."

Bruce laughs, adjusting the scarf he's wearing, "I'm sure they'll be fine, Tony." The two of them walk into MacLaren's, instantly walking towards their usual booth. 

The two women and one man look up happily at the sight of Tony and he introduces, "Guys, this is Bruce. Bruce, this is Brunnhilde, Jessica and Thor."

All of them say their greetings and Bruce pulls a chair from an empty table to sit since the booth was full already. Brunnhilde says, "You can call me Brun or Val, if my name's a bit of a mouthful." Bruce nods, smiling. 

"What do you do?" Jessica asks.

"Science stuff. Different from the stuff Tony does, but it's Science," Bruce says loosely. "I do some work at Metro-General, but not my main line of work."

Thor asks, interested, "What's your main line of work?"

"Radiation study, that's why I work with Metro-General a little bit. Cancer research and radiation, you know?" Bruce explains. "What about you guys?"

"Trying to start up a café," Thor answers. "Jessica works for the NYPD, Val is a talent agent and Tony..."

"Is building his robot," Tony fills in. "Oh, and is still jobless."

Val scoffs, "I still don't know why nobody wants to hire you. You're a gold mine for the science field."

"Right?" Tony agrees. "I didn't graduate from M.I.T. as a teenager for this."

They all laugh and the waitress arrives with some shots Jessica ordered just before Tony and Bruce came in. The waitress says, "MacLaren's is planning some New Year's Eve stuff in December. I know it's May, a little early, but would you attend? We wanted to invite some regular customers."

Val instantly says, "Sorry, we already had plans. Maybe next year?" The waitress nods, leaving them with a smile.

"We have plans?" Thor asks. Everyone else mirrors his surprise. They hadn't discussed New Year's Eve with the event being so many months away. They had assumed they were going to do what they always did on New Year's Eve -- assemble at Tony and Thor's apartment and watch movies together.

Val explains, "I thought about it when she invited us. We do the same thing every year! Come on, let's shake it up a bit. Let's go to Times Square."

"Are you crazy? Times Square on New Year's Eve sucks," Jessica insists.

Val shrugs, "Why not challenge ourselves to make it not suck? Are you all in? Come on, Bruce can come if he wants to." 

"Nah, I'll be busy on New Year's Eve," Bruce declines. "But you should do it. You never know, it could be fun. I find that something always happens on New Year's Eve." 

> "He was right. We just didn't know it yet."

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea," Tony says finally. "Maybe we'll be surprised, like Bruce said." 

> "We were surprised on New Year's Eve, but I'll get to that. We were also surprised days later." 

"I'm dating Bruce!" 

Jessica almost spits out her drink at Thor's announcement. Tony sighs, "Oh man, come on."

Thor grins, sitting down next to Val on the couch as he says, "Sorry, Tony. I couldn't help it. He's so smart and nice." Tony shakes his head and returns his attention to the small component he was working on while Jessica flicks through the TV channels. 

Val points out, "You have nothing in common!" 

"Nonsense," Thor says. "We'll get along just fine." 

> "We didn't know just how right one of them was. But that's a story for another time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and/or comments are appreciated, it keeps me motivated! thank you <3


	6. 1x6: Happy New Year, Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group follows Val's New Year's Eve plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> super short chapter but it's the end of the first year, 1999! next chapter will be 2000!

> "If there's one time of the year we hated, it was New Year's Eve. Times Square was crowded with people, New Yorkers and non-New Yorkers. It was noisy and inconvenient, especially if you were planning to go home but the traffic shits all over your plans. If you'll recall, your aunt Val suggested that we go against what we usually did and actually went out on New Year's Eve. So we were all standing outside me and Thor's apartment complex deciding what to do when we got to Times Square. Val had a list of some parties -- some of which had celebrities present since she was an agent and knew where they would be. The night wasn't looking so bad."

* * *

**DECEMBER, 1999**

* * *

"I have five parties on my list," Val says as the four of them entered the car she rented. It was 9:30PM on New Year's Eve. The chauffeur waits patiently with a smile on his face as they made themselves comfortably, leaning over to read Val's list. "I arranged them based on how far they are from Tony and Thor's place, and the last one is right there in Times Square. All of them, celebrities are rumoured to be there." 

"Then let's go!" Thor cheers. "Maybe Tony can hook up with a famous actor or something." 

Tony shoves him jokingly, "I'm not doing anything like that this year. It's just a good night with my best friends." 

"_Aw_," Jessica says sarcastically. "Just threw up in my mouth a little." 

"First party, please," Val says, passing the list to the chauffeur. He reads the address and nods, driving off to the first party.

* * *

"That party was awesome!" Thor cheers as the four of them re-enter the car. "Did you see that actor flirt with me? I wish we never left!" 

"Of course he flirted with you. Have you seen yourself?" Tony laughs. "What's the next party, Val?"

Val takes a look at the list before handing it back to the chauffeur, "Angelina Jolie's supposed to be at this one. If we're lucky, she will be. Come on!" 

The four of them went from party to party, each time meeting celebrities who were there in secret; Thank God for their talent agent friend. Seeing celebrities instantly brightened up their New Year's Eve and made them a lot more excited for it to strike 12AM. Jessica had managed to make out with a musician she wouldn't name, Val had gotten the number of a very sexy supermodel, Tony got hit on by a few actors and Thor himself had action from both men and women; Val joked that it's a pity for the women that he's gay.

When it got to 11:45PM, Val had the chauffeur drive them to Times Square for the final party -- the countdown itself, before they all agreed they would head back to Tony and Thor's apartment and have a sleepover.

"Thanks for all the great parties, Val," Tony says. "New Year's Eve at Times Square isn't so bad."

"This New Year's Eve didn't completely suck," Thor agrees, putting an arm around Val's shoulder.

She leans into his side, grinning as she asks, "You wouldn't be opposed to doing this again next year, then?"

"Let's not go that far," Jessica mutters. "Maybe a few years later, this can be an option again."

Val smiles, taking Jessica's arm so she can pull her to her and Thor, "I'll hold you to your word, Jones. Tony, come here." Tony laughs and moves closer, letting Thor tug him into their little group hug.

"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three!" 

Tony grins up at the fireworks set-up, excited for it to go off, but a glint of red at the corner of his eye brings his gaze back to the street. _Red glasses._

"Two!"

> "The great moments of your life won't necessarily be the things you do, they'll also be the things that happen to you. Now, I'm not saying you can't take action to affect the outcome of your life, you have to take action, and you will. But never forget that on any day, you can step out the front door and your whole life can change forever. You see, the universe has a plan, kids, and that plan is always in motion. A butterfly flaps its wings, and it starts to rain. It's a scary thought, but it's also kind of wonderful. All these little parts of the machine constantly working, making sure that you end up exactly where you're supposed to be, exactly when you're supposed to be there. The right place at the right time."

"One!" 

"Matt?" Tony calls.

Matt pauses, like he's trying to figure out whose voice it is above the noise and says, a faint smile on his face, "Happy New Year, Tony."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and/or comments are appreciated, it keeps me motivated! thank you <3


	7. 2x1: Kind Of Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group tries to figure out where Tony is going wrong in his job interviews and helps Val secure The Winter Soldiers as her clients.

> "On New Year's Eve in 1999, right on midnight, I saw Matt the law student at Times Square. It's kind of crazy if you think about it. An entire city full of people, a million different areas to be at any minute of the night, and the two of us landed in the exact same place at the exact same time. We were happy to reunite. On January 1st, we went on that date Matt cancelled, and by the time February of 2000 rolled around, we were dating. Matt started joining us at MacLaren's."

* * *

**FEBRUARY, 2000**

* * *

"Hey, guys," Matt says, his cane retracted as Tony leads him to the usual booth. Everyone greets him back, and Thor gets out of the booth, dragging a chair from another table over so Matt and Tony can sit in the booth together. "So how's things with everyone?"

"Asgard's renovations and furnishing started last month," Thor says, beaming. "They told me the café will be done by September since it isn't that big."

Jessica asks, "Where's Asgard again?"

Thor answers, "Oh, it's near Metro-General. I was told it's a good spot, plus it wasn't unaffordable." 

"That's good," Matt says. "Jessica quit the NYPD right? Tony said something about that."

Jessica nods, but then remembers Matt can't see that and voices, "Yeah, I decided to become a private investigator instead. Be my own boss. You're still in law school, right?" 

"Yep," Matt answers. "Next year's my graduation." 

"Awesome. We should attend it," Val smiles. "Right now, I'm trying to get this band under me. The Winter Soldiers, Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. They're so good and have no agent right now. I'm competing against _three_ other agents for them."

"Wow, that good?" Tony asks. "You'll get them, I'm sure."

Val drinks from her glass, saying, "I hope so. What about you, Tony? How's life going?" 

> "What about me? By the time it was February 2000, the only things I had accomplished was building Dum-E in September 1999, going on a road trip with Thor in November 1999, going on a date with Matt in January 2000 and being declined an actual job for months. I was the least productive out of everyone."

"It's... going," Tony says slowly. 

Jessica narrows her eyes at him, "You still don't have a job."

"I'm sorry! It's not my fault nobody wants to hire me! I thought my resumé is awesome," Tony defends. 

Thor agrees, "Your resumé _is_ awesome. It must be something you're doing at your interviews. Talk us through how your interviews go."

Tony adjusts in his seat, ready to tell them how an interview went, and says, "So I walk into the room, greetings and shaking hands, you know? We both sit and they ask for my life accomplishments. So I say the whole M.I.T. thing, the engine I built when I was four. And they all look impressed, interested. They ask me if I have any plans for later in life, I tell them I'm waiting on my dad to give me control of Stark Industries." They all make that collective expression that means 'Now I get it' and Tony asks, "What?"

"Stark Industries," Val points out. "A major company in your field... If you're set to take control of it, why would they hire you?"

"I would agree, but they usually get impressed at how Howard Stark is my dad," Tony frowns. "Then they ask me if I were allowed to build something for the company to produce, what would it be and why. So I take out my blueprints for a drone that projects lifelike holograms, said I would like to use it as a therapeutic assistant. Then when that didn't work, I show blueprints for an arc reactor that could power a village. When that didn't work, I show blueprints for glasses that could provide audio output for the visually-impaired. But every project I propose, they turn me down."

"I like the glasses idea," Matt says. "Maybe you can build me one?"

Tony smiles, putting a hand on Matt's, "I'll see if I can get the stuff I need."

Jessica scoffs, "I think that's the problem. Your projects are more for helping people than earning money."

"But they'll earn money regardless," Tony says. "People will buy it."

"They're trying to earn money from the _rich_," Jessica clarifies. "At this point, maybe you should just wait for Stark Industries. You're getting it when you're 25, right? That's just next year." 

> "I decided to wait until 2001 for Stark Industries. There was no point looking for a job at the end of the day. I wanted to help people and they wanted money. I had enough, and when Thor's renovations for Asgard was complete, I got a job there until I got Stark Industries anyway. Later on that month, Val wanted our help in getting Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes to hire her, so she invited them to our usual bar." 

"Guys, Sam and Bucky are coming in anytime now, so please be cool," Val says, tense. Jessica almost chokes on her drink and Thor pats her back. "Please, I need to nail this deal. Just help me convince them I would be a great manager."

Matt tries to give his most supportive smile, "We'll try our best, Val." 

"Thanks," Val says, turning around where two men walk in. The one with long dark brown hair had a maroon sweater on and had only one glove on. The one with the military cut had a yellow T-shirt on, and both wore jeans. They spot Val and smile, walking over. Val pulls three more chairs over and Thor and Jessica move out of the booth into the extra chairs so Sam and Bucky can sit in the booth.

"Thanks for coming!" Val smiles after everyone is seated. "These are my friends, Thor, Tony, Jessica and Matt. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Sam says. "In case it wasn't clear, I'm Sam and he's Bucky."

"Do you guys have an agent?" Jessica asks, cutting right to the chase. Val's eyes widen in panic at how straightforward she was.

Bucky and Sam share a look before the former of them shakes his head, "Not yet. We have a few offers, though."

"She's good," Jessica says, raising her bottle in Val's direction. "Very good. She recently picked up this band, Heroes for Hire. Luke Cage and Danny Rand. Maybe you've heard of them?"

"Oh, Luke's my man," Sam says enthusiastically. "You're his agent?"

"Yeah," Val laughs nervously. 

Jessica continues, "Val works really hard. She's always checking up on the people who help them on tour, makes sure the recording studio is good for their work, does everything she can to make sure security is tight and accommodates their needs and wants. She's dedicated, and if she's your agent, it'll be the best decision you will ever make." 

Sam and Bucky exchange a look again, clearly having one of those telepathic conversations only couples or close friends can have. Eventually, they both nodded with a faint smile on their faces. Bucky looks at Val and says, "Val, would you be our agent?"

"I would love to," Val says, trying not to let her excitement seep through.

By the time the two men left, Val turns to Jessica to thank her but she holds up a hand as if to say 'don't thank me'. Matt comments, finding the whole situation fun, "You really don't beat around the bush, huh?" 

"I don't dance. I just say what I want," Jessica says.

> "It ended up being one of the best things your aunt Jessica had ever done for Val. The Winter Soldiers, not too long after Sam and Bucky got married in February 2002, had a huge boost in sales for the album they released in the same year. They became Val's most successful band. This was a new beginning for most of us, but we didn't know that there were endings coming our way too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and/or comments are appreciated, it keeps me motivated! thank you <3


	8. 2x2: A Day and A Half

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group goes on a camping trip to celebrate Tony's birthday and they realise just how much can go wrong in a day and a half.

> "In May, your uncle Thor had planned a little getaway for our group to celebrate my birthday. It was originally just going to be me, Thor, Val and Jessica, which none of us were opposed to. But Thor felt weird about leaving Matt out since he was my boyfriend and it was my birthday, plus he didn't feel right about purposely avoiding the topic of our camping trip when Matt comes to the bar with us all the time, so he invited him. It was alright, though, because Matt wasn't free due to school. So it was going to continue being just the four of us, but then Val accidentally mentioned it to Bruce, and invited him in a panic. Bruce was free, unlike Matt, so he came. Then the 28th of May finally came, and we were all setting up our tents in the woods. What we didn't know was that day would be one of the longest days we would ever experience. It ended up being known as The Day And A Half in 2000."

* * *

**MAY, 2000**

* * *

Jessica finishes her tent first, adjusting her sleeveless shirt and looking around, "You guys aren't done yet?" 

"Almost done!" Val calls out. "We can go looking for firewood after I'm finished with setting mine up."

"Sure," Jessica nods, squinting at Thor and Bruce who were setting up their tent. Their tent was bigger than Tony's, Val's and Jessica's since they were two people instead of one, so of course their tent were taking a little more effort to set up. Jessica asks, "You boys need any help?"

"All good!" Thor replies, taking a bunch of tent poles from Bruce's hand and stepping away from him to figure it out. "Just need to get these in order and the rest will be easy."

"Do they seem a little weird to you?" Tony asks, tilting his head in Thor and Bruce's direction. Jessica looks back at them. Tony can see the P.I. gears in her brain turning as she tries to figure out something about them. 

She finally nods, "Yeah. Probably the heat getting to them, Thor definitely didn't think this through. Maybe they'll be better in the evening when it's cooler."

Tony sits down in the dirt, setting up some tent poles, "Do you think Thor's annoyed because he didn't invite Bruce in the first place? Because I'm fine with him being here, Bruce is a good friend."

Jessica replies, helping him with some remaining tent poles, "Could be... But if Bruce is your friend and you didn't mind him being here, then why is Thor so bothered about his _boyfriend_ being here?" Before Tony can answer, Jessica changes the subject, "Bruce said earlier that we didn't pack enough food for all of us, so I'm gonna go to that convenience store we passed and get some stuff from there. You want anything? Val said earlier that she just wants sandwiches and I'm getting cheap beer."

"Maybe some double A batteries, my electric fan's running low," Tony says. "Drive safe."

"Yeah, yeah," Jessica says dismissively. She says something to Thor before he passes his car keys to her and she leaves the campsite.

> "About an hour later, I got a call from the local police, saying Jessica asked for me. Apparently, she'd gotten into a fight with someone at the convenience store and needed someone to bail her out. Obviously, I went. Since Thor's car was with Jessica, I didn't want us to bring two cars back, so I walked instead of taking Bruce's. It was a long walk and nothing really happened on the way to the police station, so I'll tell you what happened at the campsite while I was gone before I talk about Jessica at the police station."

"You're doing that wrong," Bruce sighs in frustration, taking down the tarp and rearranging it. "It goes here. Not there. Why would it go there?"

Thor rolls his eyes and Val pauses in her organising of inventory. Since she'd finished up her tent and was waiting on Jessica to return to find firewood, she decided to go through the stuff they brought for the day and a half. She was mentally splitting the things up between the five of them until she'd heard Bruce get annoyed and looked up in time to see Thor himself getting annoyed, which was a rarity on his own.

> "Thor is a kind soul by nature and never got irritated at anybody, so it was a surprise that he was starting to get sarcastic with Bruce of all people. I didn't believe it when your aunt Val told me." 

"If I'm doing it wrong then do it yourself. I'll go collect firewood," Thor says.

Bruce sits down in the dirt, half-heartedly holding up a hand to call Thor back, "No-- Don't be like that."

"Don't be like _what_? If you're going to be annoyed with me then either do it somewhere else or when I'm not here!" Thor says loudly. Val can sense that it was going to escalate if she didn't intervene, so she quickly walks over to them, stepping between the two men.

"Hey, let's all calm down, yeah?" Val says, placing her hands on Thor's chest to lightly guide him away from Bruce. "Thor, it's hot, right? Let's get some water in you." Bruce huffs and goes back to finishing the tent and Thor follows Val to Bruce's car; Since Jessica took Thor's to the convenience store, they moved the supplies into Bruce's car to keep them at the campsite. Good thing they did since Jessica isn't coming back for a while.

Once the two of them are out of Bruce's earshot, Val asks, "What happened?"

Thor shakes his head, taking a drink of the water she gave him, "Just a minor argument. Nothing much." 

"You're my best friend, Thor," Val says, sitting down next to him. "I know when you're lying." 

> "Turns out, Thor and Bruce haven't been very smooth-sailing for a while. Thor told Val about how the first year actually went pretty well until one of Bruce's co-workers joked about how it's taking them forever to move in together. At first, they'd humoured the thought, until they realised they had very different ideas about how they wanted to go about it. Thor didn't want to move to Bruce's part of the city because he didn't want to live so far from the rest of us. Bruce didn't want to move to our part of the city because it was quite a ways away from Metro-General and his other workplaces. Eventually, the arguments stopped being about moving in and started being about each other."

"Thor, you have _got_ to do something about this! You can't keep arguing forever," Val points out.

Thor struggles to find the words but ultimately settles on, "It's... I don't know what to do, because we've been great for twelve out of the thirteen months we've been together. What if this is just a rough patch that we end up getting over?" Val looks at Bruce, who had completed the tent and was writing in a notebook under its shade.

> "Val thought about how different Thor and Bruce were. Bruce was a little bit uptight and tried to keep things the way he knew it to be. Thor was a little more adventurous than that. Bruce spent his free time doing science and math, Thor spent his watching Star Wars. They didn't even live in the same part of the city. She thought about how she was right thirteen months ago."

She says, "One more argument today and you're talking about it, okay? I'm not having you guys ruin Tony's birthday. You planned this camping trip, so please just make sure it doesn't get worse than Jessica getting arrested."

"Fine, I promise. One more fight," Thor mutters. "I'll help Tony finish his tent."

Val nods, saying, "I'll go get firewood. I doubt Jess and Tony will be back in time. Both of you, behave until I get back."

"Fine, yes," Thor replies, tone only slightly irritated. Val knows it's not directed at her and more at how he was going to be alone with Bruce until Val returns. She doesn't know if that makes her feel better or worse.

> "I'll get to aunt Val collecting firewood in a while, but I promised you aunt Jessica's part of the story, so here we go. I reached the police station after a peaceful half hour walk. At this point, it was around about 3PM or so."

"Hey, I'm Tony Stark," Tony says at the front desk. "I'm bailing someone out."

"Name?" the clerk asks, keyboard clacking loudly; Tony wondered what she was even typing when he hasn't even told her Jessica's name yet.

"Jessica Jones," Tony answers. She nods and types some more before raising the phone. After a few quiet words, an officer comes out and gestures for Tony to follow her. Tony follows the officer to the holding cell.

The officer asks, "Does your friend get in fights often?" 

"No," Tony answers. It's the truth; Jessica never fought anyone, but they all knew she packed a severe punch, especially if she was drunk. 

"Hm," she says, unconvinced. "Anyway, here she is. Here are her belongings, she's free to go."

"Thanks," Tony says, taking the paper bag with Jessica's wallet and phone and Thor's car keys in it. He goes to the cell, which had been opened so Jessica could exit. "What the hell were you thinking? Are you drunk?"

"I didn't even get to buy my alcohol when they got me," she scoffs. "But I promise this isn't what you think it is. I wouldn't ruin your birthday on purpose."

> "Then Jessica told me about how she got into the fight. She'd met an ex-convict at the convenience store. That wasn't the problem, though. According to her, this ex-convict can't even harm a fly. The problem was with a man who tried to touch her... in a no-touch zone. Let's just say that. And the ex-convict had seen him so he punched him. And when the guy punched him back, Jessica hit him so hard that he toppled over a shelf. The cashier called the cops on her after that, which pisses me off. Wrong person, dumbasses. But Jessica was fine. The guy didn't touch her because the ex-convict, who she only knew as Scott, had helped her. So while we were in Thor's car driving to the convenience store so I could get the stuff we had to get, Val was looking for firewood. At this point, it's around 4PM."

Val stumbles onto another campsite in her unsuccessful search for firewood. There were three men and one woman present. One of the men spots her and waves, "Who are you?"

"Um, I'm Val," she answers, stepping out into full view. "I was looking for firewood. Do you know any spot I could get some?"

The woman replies, "Hogun here got us a whole load of firewood, so we can give you some of ours. We've got more than we need." Hogun stands to grab some firewood to give Val.

"Thank you," she says. "You are?"

"Sif," the woman answers. "That's Hogun, you already know, that's Fandral and Volstagg. You're here alone?"

"With friends," Val says. "But something came up so I'm looking for firewood myself." Hogun gives her a bag with some firewood in it and Val thanks him.

Sif offers, "Do you want to merge campsites? We don't mind."

"Nah, this was a birthday trip for a friend. I invited someone on accident and it turned out to be a bad decision," Val says regrettably. She'd been kicking herself for her big mouth telling Bruce about the camping trip and then awkwardly inviting him without asking Thor or Tony first. She thought Bruce would say no like Matt did, since he had been too busy to even celebrate New Year's Eve with them. He was surprisingly available and came along and now he and her best friend are arguing on Tony's birthday. "I just hope they don't make a scene. I'd hate to ruin his birthday."

"That's awful. Have they tried this thing called apologising?" Fandral suggests, cheeky smile on his face. "I hear it does wonders for repairing disagreements."

"This is way past apologies, I think," Val says. Sif shifts aside, welcoming Val to sit with them. She decides she's not in any hurry to get back and sits, continuing, "Neither of them have done anything wrong... They're just so annoyed with each other. They're like a bomb about to go off any minute."

Volstagg tries, "Maybe they need some alone time to talk? Perhaps they'll be alright by the time you get back."

"See, I'd believe that, but they looked ready to kill each other when I left," Val laments. 

> "Your aunt Val talked to them for a while. I'm not telling you the whole conversation because it'd just be a repeat of Thor and Bruce's argument, plus I'm pretty sure she hooked up with Sif, so I'll just skip to 5PM, when Jessica and I were back at the campsite."

"Hey, boys. Miss me?" Jessica asks, lifting a case of the alcohol she had been so happy to get her hands on. Tony silently notes how the two men were on opposite ends of the campsite. Thor smiles and walks over, taking his bag of Oreos from Tony.

"I always miss you," Thor says. "Why'd you get arrested?" 

"She beat a jackass," Tony answers. 

Thor grins, high-fiving Jessica, "Nice."

Jessica walks over to Thor and Bruce's tent and gives Bruce the chocolate bar he'd asked for. when she gets back to Thor and Tony, she asks, "What's up with him?"

"Nothing," Thor says. "Oh, Tony. I set up your tent, can you check if it's comfortable? I'll help you fix it if anything's wrong." Tony gives him a thumbs up and leaves. As soon as he's in his tent, Thor fills Jessica in on the argument and his conversation with Val before she left to get firewood. 

"I agree with Val, one more argument and you have to talk about it," Jessica says. "But you better not ruin Tony's birthday." 

"I'm _trying_!" Thor whispers. "He keeps getting on my nerves!"

> "By the time 6PM rolled around, Val came back and she, Thor and Jessica spent forty-five minutes starting a fire. It was taking so long because they kept joking around and purposely taking their time with the fire. They thought it was funny. I thought it was funny too, so I let them be. I wanted to call Matt anyway, and it was as good a time as any. It was 6:45PM by then, I knew Matt was free. I went to the roadside to talk so there wouldn't be their noise and because there was better reception. When I was gone, Thor and Bruce had their final argument about taking too long with the fire. It got a little heated -- no pun intended."

"Hey, stop it!" Jessica says over their argument. She would shout, but she didn't want to risk Tony hearing the fight from where he was, not when he was on a birthday call with his boyfriend.

"Him first!" Thor says childishly. "He started it!" 

"At least I started _something_!" Bruce retorts. "You can't even start the fire!"

Thor groans sarcastically, "It's called having _fun_! Maybe if you got your head out of your _a_\--"

> "Okay. He said some not very nice things here."

Val and Jessica's eyes widen as they watch the anger grow on Bruce's face. Bruce shouts, "Oh, don't you start, _motherf_\--" 

> "_Okay_! I'm just going to cut right to 7:30PM. By the time I came back, the fire had been started and Val and Bruce weren't there."

"Where're Val and Bruce?" Tony asks, looking around.

Taking a walk," Jessica answers. Thor flashes an amiable smile at Tony, reaching over to grab the bag of wooden sticks and marshmallows.

"Melted marshmallow?" Thor offers.

Tony sits down next to them, "Sure. Light 'em up, buddy."

> "Jessica, Thor and I spent twenty minutes eating s'mores and talking about anything until Bruce and Val came back. I still didn't know what was going on, I just assumed everyone was being weird. But by then, even though it was just 8PM, it was getting pretty dark, so we let the fire keep burning and agreed to go to sleep. It's not until 8:20 or so that Thor tapped on the outside of my tent."

"Thor?" Tony asks, unzipping it to let Thor in. Once Thor is seated in the tent, Tony zips it back up. "What's up?"

"I'm so sorry, Tony. I really wanted this to be a good birthday for you," Thor starts. 

Tony frowns in confusion, bookmarking the book he'd been reading so he could focus on Thor, "What do you mean? Today's been fantastic. Jessica beat up a jackass, Val got us some pretty good firewood, I mean that stuff's _still_ burning. Bruce is here --" 

"That's the problem," Thor says. "Bruce is here." 

Tony stares at him before asking, "Things getting shaky between you two?"

"It's been shaky for the past month," Thor admits. "We had four arguments and that's just _today_. We had our last one just fifteen minutes ago and that's why I'm here, I didn't want to be in the same tent as him. We were arguing about the most ridiculous things. The first argument today was about attaching tent poles wrongly, the second was about setting up the tarp, the third was just a screaming match while you were on your call with Matt and our last one was about how my music was playing too loudly in my earphones. It's not even at half vol--" Thor cuts himself off, saying, "I'm really sorry I'm dumping this on you on your birthday. You deserve a better birthday that isn't spent fixing my love life." 

Tony pulls Thor into a hug, saying, "Come on, Thor. You're my best friend. Your problems are important to me no matter what day it is." 

Thor returns the hug gratefully, "I love you, Tony."

"I love you too, buddy," Tony replies. "Now, about Bruce... I don't want to tell you how to run your relationships, but at the sound of things... maybe it's best if you guys call it quits. I know it's been good for most of it, but it doesn't sound like it's just a rough patch."

"I thought so," Thor sighs. "It feels like such a waste. I should have listened when Val said we had nothing in common." 

"Doesn't matter if she was right or not," Tony says. "This is about you."

> "Thor spent the night in my tent. It was a little cramped since mine was for one occupant only, but I was happy to not be alone, and Thor was happy to be in my company, so we were both fine with it. The next morning, Thor got up a little earlier than I did, like he always did, and left the tent to start on clearing up the campsite. Coincidentally, Bruce was also awake. So, of course, this started." 

"For God's sake, maybe if you had any common sense instead of being such a _bit_\--" 

> "_Oh_. I can't say that." 

"Oh, just _shut_ the _fu_\--" 

> "Actually, I can't say _any_ of this. This went on a while. Eventually, the big line dropped." 

"Maybe we should end it here, then!" Bruce almost shouts.

"Maybe we should!" Thor replies just as loudly. The both of them pause and Thor sighs, throwing a hand up in exasperation, "Look, what matters is that we tried. We tried our best and it didn't work out. It happens sometimes, that's life. And I like you a lot, Bruce, but we just weren't meant for the long road."

Bruce gives him a long look. Thor sees every movie they'd seen together, every morning they'd woken up in each other's apartment, every meal they'd shared. Every smile he'd ever been given by Bruce. And then he sees all of that fade away as Bruce says quietly, "Goodbye, Thor."

"Goodbye."

Bruce walks away to his car, his things already in the backseat. Thor stands at the side of the road until Bruce's car is no longer visible before he shakes his head, running a hand through his hair before he returns to the camping site. By the time he came back, the others were awake. Val and Tony were taking down their tents while Jessica is already packed up, sitting on the hood of Thor's car drinking from a bottle.

Val looks around and asks, "Where's Bruce?"

Thor replies flatly, going down on one knee to dismantle his tent, "Gone." The other three of them exchange looks before Val and Tony abandon their tents, all of them moving to help Thor with his own. 

"It's kind of insane how much happened in just a day and a half," Tony comments above the silence.

Thor says, "Tell me about it." Though the reply came off a little sassy, they all knew him well enough to know he was upset. Jessica reaches for her bottle and gives it to him.

"You know what?" Jessica asks, her own attempt to comfort Thor. "You've still got us."

Thor manages a faint smile, taking the bottle from Jessica, "Yeah... I still have you guys." 

> "After Bruce left, Thor helped us pack up our tents into the car. Val was right all along. They had nothing in common. That day, while not the best birthday, it was fine because I had my friends and that was all that mattered. Thor kept worrying that he ruined it with his relationship drama, but I didn't mind. That was also the day Thor realised that he was searching for what he really wanted in life and he had absolutely no idea what that was. Lucky for him, it was coming his way. He just didn't know it yet. But that's a story for another time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos appreciated! <3


	9. 2x3: Ripple Effect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony, Val, Jessica and Matt attend Bruce's Christmas party.

> "Kids, in the May of 2000, you uncle Thor had a bad break-up with my friend Bruce after their relationship ended in flames the day after my birthday. So it's not surprise that when Bruce invited us to his place for Christmas the year, Thor decided not to go."

* * *

**DECEMBER, 2000**

* * *

"You have to come!" Tony tries. "Come on, Bruce said it was fine." 

Thor shakes his head, sitting next to Val in the booth while Tony slides into Jessica's side of it. By September, Thor's café had already been set up, so Thor hired Tony and Loki at Asgard. Thor kept gushing about how great the name Tony's friend picked out was and how glad he is that he was suggested it. Thor, Tony and Loki came to MacLaren's straight from work, where Jessica and Val had already ordered the first round of shots.

"No. See, he _says_ it's fine, but if I go I'm going to ruin Christmas for everyone," Thor declines. "Just go, you guys."

"We don't want to go without you," Val frowns. "Either you go or none of us are going."

Thor sighs, putting an arm around Val, "I love you guys, which is why I'm saying go for the party. I'm fine with it. Just because he and I aren't friends doesn't mean you can't be."

"Not that I'm getting soft or anything, but we just don't want you to be alone on Christmas," Jessica says.

Loki offers, "If him being alone is the problem, Thor can spend Christmas with me and our mother."

Thor nods, "Exactly. I'd like some quality time with my brother. It's a win-win for everyone. You get a good party, I get to hang out with my family, and nobody ruins anybody's Christmas."

"Fine, we'll go," Tony says. "But we have to have our own Christmas, whether it be after the party or on the 26th." 

"Deal," they all agree. 

"Of course, Tony," Thor says. "Christmas isn't Christmas without you guys."

"Aw, Thor!" Val grins, hugging Thor who returns it happily. "Don't get soft on us now."

Thor kisses her forehead fondly and says, "Anyway, just go for the party. Who knows? Maybe you'll meet someone. Well, not Tony. He's got Matt. Is he going for the party?"

Tony nods, "Yeah, he's got no classes so he can come along, but he said he might leave early, noisy parties aren't his scene."

"Oh, that sucks," Thor says. "Well, we can invite him to our quieter after-Christmas party."

"Of course," Tony replies, downing his drink. "Okay, so Jess, Val, Matt and I will be at Bruce's and Thor will be at Loki's, and we will all meet back at me and Thor's place the day after at... 7PM?"

They all agree and the conversation goes back to their daily nonsense. A customer with a strange coffee order at Asgard, Jessica's peculiar client who thinks his dolls are stalking home and Val's client drama revolving around two artists she wouldn't name who refuse to work together. Loki even joins in by offering up a story of his own: a boy who wore a dress to school just so he could prove to a bigoted teacher that he wore it better.

> "Eventually the party rolled around and we went to it."

"Welcome," Bruce says, opening the door. There's a surprising amount of people there. When Bruce said it was going to be a big party, they didn't think this many people would attend. "Leave your coats at the hanger and if you're worried about losing your belongings, I can keep them locked up in my room until you leave."

"We're good. Thanks, Bruce," Val says sincerely, hanging her coat on the rack.

Bruce asks, "So Thor decided not to come?"

"Not a personal thing. He didn't want to take a chance on ruining Christmas for anyone," Jessica explains.

Bruce nods, "Good choice. I don't have the energy for another argument, especially not today. But he's not alone?"

"With his family," Tony answers. 

"Okay," Bruce says. "Well, have fun. Drinks are in the fridge, take them as you like. Leave whenever you like, the door is unlocked. No pressure to stay if you need to go." 

Jessica and Val instantly split off to get drinks and Tony guides Matt to the couch. Matt decided against bringing his cane due to not wanting to inconvenience anyone in such a crowded setting. Even though Bruce assured him earlier on that nobody at the party would mind if he had a cane with him, Matt insisted, so Tony had taken on the responsibility of watching out for him since it was a little noisy for Matt to just hear people coming his way. 

"Scotch for the lawyer," Jessica says, putting a glass in Matt's hand. "And beer for the soon-to-be CEO of Stark Industries."

"Thanks," Tony says, taking the bottle from her.

"Val went off to dance with someone she saw," Jessica explains her absence. "I'm gonna hook up with Erik Gelden or something." 

"I will never get over how blunt she is," Matt laughs, drinking from his glass.

Tony chuckles, shaking his head, "Right? But we love her for that."

"We do," Matt agrees. "Don't mind me, go dance or something. You've been working hard at Thor's café, you deserve some time to let loose." 

"If I'm dancing, you're coming with me. For _one_ song, at least," Tony bargains. Matt smiles and takes Tony's hand, letting him pull him up off the couch.

"Fine," Matt says. The playlist Bruce had played for the party starts playing a romantic song, coincidentally, and the two of them hold each other closely, rocking slowly to the words. 

"Merry Christmas, Matt," Tony says quietly.

Matt kisses Tony before pulling away, smiling, "Merry Christmas."

> "The party's pretty uneventful for most of it. I met some people there, but none of them are interesting enough to talk about. When it hit 9, Matt went home early like he said he would. By 11, I decided to go home."

Tony takes a step out of the door before going back inside. Bruce raises an eyebrow, "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, didn't realise it got so much colder. I knew I should have listened when Thor told me to bring a coat," Tony mutters. He looks around and spots a green jacket on the couch, a 'S' on the left breast of it. He picks it up, asking, "Is this anyone's?" 

"Not mine, that's for sure," Bruce says. "I don't remember who wore that. Hold on." He takes the jacket and shouts above the noise, "Is this anyone's?" When nobody comes forward to claim it, Bruce gives it to Tony, "Just wear it home. I'm sure it'll be fine." 

"Okay, if you say so," Tony says, pulling the jacket on. It's only the slightest bit bigger, the sleeves covering half his palm. "I'm leaving. Thanks for the awesome party, Bruce. If Jess or Val ask for him, tell them I went home."

Bruce nods, "Merry Christmas, Tony." 

"Merry Christmas, buddy," Tony replies, walking out the door. 

> "As I walked home in the green jacket that didn't belong to me, I thought about how life was going. It was good, surprisingly enough. I thought about how I might not be walking home if I never spoke to Matt at MacLaren's last year. The littlest things that happen can have the biggest ripple effects on your life. You see, if I hadn't been rejected by Peter last year, built the robot, met Bruce, let him date Thor, let them break up and Thor came to this party, I wouldn't have walked home. And if I never walked home, I might have never met your father. And that story is just beginning."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos appreciated! <3


	10. 3x1: Intervention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor, Jessica, Matt and Val hold an intervention for Tony's lack of seriousness in running Stark Industries.

> "By the February of 2001, my father had given me control over Stark Industries and stepped down. I quit my job at Asgard to focus on Stark Industries. 25 was a little young to take control of a company, but at the time Stark Industries was only a household name for people who cared about science, so it was alright for me to take over."

* * *

**MARCH, 2001**

* * *

When Tony and Thor walk into MacLaren's, they see Jessica and Val with their laptops open while Matt has some braille documents. They slide into the booth and Thor asks, "What are you busy with?"

"New case," Jessica answers, taking a long gulp from her beer.

"New contract," Val says. 

"New assignment," Matt adds. 

"You three are working so hard," Thor praises. "I would think Tony would be the one with a laptop in MacLaren's." 

> "Because Stark Industries wasn't a popular company back then, I wasn't taking my job seriously."

"Nah, it's cool," Tony says loosely.

Matt asks, "Oh, you've got an assistant, right?"

"No," Tony answers. 

"No?" Val repeats, narrowing her eyes at him. 

"No assistant," Tony affirms. "Don't need one." 

Jessica flicks through some photos on her camera before connecting it to her laptop, saying, "Don't bullshit me now, Stark. Your company's not big but it's not small either. It needs a boss." 

"I'm _being_ the boss!" Tony defends.

"This? This is not being a boss. This is being a half-ass employee," Jessica says.

Tony raises his hands in mock surrender, "I've got it all under control."

> "I didn't, because the next day, I came home to see Jessica, Matt, Val and Thor with the infamous intervention banner hung up. I should explain. Years before, we all attended a gambling intervention for a friend of ours and ever since then, we went overboard with doing them. We did them for everything. When Val's binge-watching got a little out of hand, when Matt's exam stress was getting to him and he started talking about becoming a ninja vigilante, when Thor was picking up a concerning amount of men at the bar and when Jessica began drinking more than she should. Actually, that last one didn't work, though she's drinking just a little bit less than she used to. Anyway, the point was I never had one, and we all agreed to stop with interventions. So I was surprised to see the banner."

"What the hell is this?" Tony asks, putting down his bag on the couch.

Matt starts, "Tony, we love you. I love you, and we know you're not the most serious person, but this nonchalant attitude to your company really needs to stop." Before Tony can say anything, Matt continues, "I know you well enough to know you're about to defend yourself, but hear us out." 

Thor adds, "I've known you the longest, I've met your family, I've seen how the company works and honestly, Tony, you are an amazing and clever person and you have the potential to make Stark Industries amazing... If you gave it a chance."

"I _am_ giving it a chance, I'm just... not that into running a company," Tony admits. "25's too young, right?"

"It could be too young, or it could be the right time," Jessica says. "Look, companies are hard to run, but consider this. One, nobody wants to hire you except your own company. Two, you finally have resources to build the things you wanted to build. Three, I'm frankly tired with how me, Val, Thor and Matt are working so hard while you're slacking off."

Val says, "This intervention isn't even really an intervention... It's more like we care for you and we want to see you succeed. And our success is only a win if we all succeed, you know? You're family to us, Tony. If we're all moving forward, we're not leaving you behind." 

Tony nods, sighing as he sits down. Thor and Matt sit by his side, Jessica stands and Val takes the loveseat. Tony says, "I'm sorry. I get what you guys mean. My dad just never really told me he liked me or that he was proud of me, or even if he had faith in me, so I guess when he gave me the company, I didn't have any expectations for myself. You're right, I should be more serious about Stark Industries."

> "Not much came from this so-called intervention except for my newfound determination to make Stark Industries into something great. But that's a key thing. I'm getting to it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos appreciated! <3


	11. 3x2: It's Better This Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old friend of Tony's returns to his life and Matt and Tony come to a realisation.

> "Kids, in June 2001, one of my closest friends Carol quit the U.S.A.F. and decided to get a calmer life. Of course, I was excited to hear that she was finally coming back. Because she had been serving in the military, I rarely got to see her and my best friend since my M.I.T. days, Rhodey. I was glad that we were going to be reunited, and for good this time."

* * *

**JUNE, 2001**

* * *

"Hey, everyone," Tony greets when they're all assembled at MacLaren's. He looks excited and they were curious as to why he is. 

"What's got you all excited?" Jessica asks.

Tony turns to Thor, asking, "You remember Carol? Rhodey brought her around that time a couple years ago."

Thor nods, a smile on his face, and Val asks, "Who's Carol?"

Tony explains, "So my best friend from M.I.T., Rhodey, he befriended this woman when he started out at the army. Her name's Carol. He took leave one time a couple years ago and Carol came along. We met and she's amazing!" 

"She sounds great, but why are you so excited?" Matt asks.

"Because she recently quit the army and I'm going to see her again for the first time in a long time," Tony grins. "She's going to come in any minute now."

Thor shares his enthusiasm, "Carol is incredible. You guys are going to love her."

"Behold, Carol fucking Danvers," Tony says, looking up from his phone and turning to the door. As soon as the words leave his mouth, a woman walks into the bar, blonde hair short and styled. She didn't have any makeup on -- she didn't need it. She had on a blue and red jacket with an eight-pointed gold star in the centre of her shirt and ripped jeans. She had on a radiant smile as she brings her phone down to her side, ordering a drink from the bar-top before making her way over to the booth.

"Look a little longer, Val," Thor teases and she catches herself, turning red slightly as she averts her eyes.

Tony gets up and hugs her tightly, Carol returning it enthusiastically. When they pull back, Carol starts, "Tony! It's been so long! How are you?"

"Way better now that you're here," Tony answers honestly. "You've met Thor before. These are my other friends, Jessica and Brunnhilde, but we call her Val for short, and this is my boyfriend, Matt." 

Carol grins, waving as she takes the space next to Thor that Tony had freed up. He pulls a chair over from another table as Carol says, "It's such a pleasure to meet you guys! Tony and I write letters when we can and he's always telling me about you. Correct me if I'm wrong -- Thor's running a café called Asgard, Matt's studying law, Jessica is a P.I. and Val is a talent agent. Right?" They all smile, indicating that she was right, and she excitedly turns to Thor, "That name you chose is so awesome!"

"I wish I could take the credit, but I didn't come up with it. One of Tony's friends did," Thor chuckles.

"Oh, which one?" Carol asks curiously. "Are they here?"

"No, haven't spoken to him since 1999," Tony says, trying to wave off the longing feeling he had for the Knowhere singer. 

> "Ever since Peter rejected me, I hadn't gone back to Knowhere. Though, I actually did pass by in May, wanting to catch up with him as a friend, but he wasn't there. I wondered if he had an off day or if he'd gotten fired, or very simply just quit. More on that later."

Carol says encouragingly, "Oh, that's a bummer. Maybe you'll see him again soon."

"Maybe," Tony shrugs. "But enough about me. How have you been?"

Carol answers, "Oh, I've been staying at a hotel for the past week while I look for an apartment to rent, and I got the best sleep I've gotten in the past few years of my life. I never wanted to wake up."

Val laughs, "A good night's sleep, every girl's dream." Carol flashes Val a smile that makes her heart skip a beat. 

"Oh, are you looking for work?" Thor asks. "You can come work at Asgard with me and my brother. I hired a girl there, Jane, but business has been picking up and I could use some extra help." 

"I would love that!" Carol says. "When can I start?" 

"I have never seen someone so excited to start work," Jessica comments, almost in disbelief. 

"You would be surprised," Matt smiles.

"Well, you can start on Monday if you want," Thor answers.

Carol grins, "Awesome. I haven't tasted better coffee ever since I had yours. I would love to learn how you make it." 

"He'll teach you everything," Tony assures. "Ever since I learnt, I can't start my day without making some coffee." 

> "Carol started working for Thor at Asgard the following Monday. Val obviously had a crush on her, but I'll get to that. Something else happened in between. In August, 2001, ever since the intervention, I had been trying to kick my laziness and get into my work seriously. But eventually, it was eating into my personal time, especially since I wasn't used to it at the time at 25 years old, and how I didn't have a secretary yet. My friends suggested I get one, but I kept not getting around to it because I was too busy. For Matt, he was in his graduating year at Law school and had to work twice as hard as he'd already been."

* * *

**AUGUST, 2001**

* * *

> "So this is just a long-winded way of saying that --"

"I'm too busy," Matt mutters, fingers running over the braille text.

"Really?" Tony asks, sitting down on the couch. "We haven't gone on a real date in _months_."

Matt sighs, leaning into the chair, "I know, but I'm really busy. I've got a test coming up and I don't know this case study inside out yet.

"Yeah... I've got all this paperwork too," Tony admits, gesturing to the stack of documents on the coffee table. "I don't even know why I bothered to ask."

A few moments of silence later, Matt says quietly, "Maybe as a last ditch effort." 

"What?"

"Maybe as a last ditch effort," Matt says a little louder. "I mean, we're kind of bluffing ourselves with this, right? I love you, but we're getting too busy. My bar exam coming up and your company on the verge of getting its first actual project off the ground? I'm too busy studying cases and you're too busy designing machines. You said it yourself, we haven't had a date in months."

Tony wracks his brain to think of their most recent date, try to prove himself wrong, and he points out, "Nope. Two days ago." 

"Being alone at MacLaren's just ten minutes before everyone else arrives does not count as a date, Tony," Matt replies.

"Damn it," Tony mutters. "You're right... So what are you suggesting?"

"We break up," Matt finally says. "And if we're both still into each other, we can try again when our lives slow down." 

Tony shakes his head, "Come on, it's been going so well." 

"At least it isn't like Thor and Bruce," Matt says pointedly. "I'd rather we end it while we still love and respect each other than end it when we're the bane of each other's existence. It's better this way." When Tony doesn't say anything, Matt adds, "Anyway... we haven't had a date in months. Can we even count as a couple in the first place? We pretty much act the same way with each other as we do with the others."

> "That was true. When our lives began picking up speed, we started getting a little lazier with our relationship. I actually don't remember the last time we properly kissed. Eventually kissing turned to a quick 'I love you' before work or school, and even that died down to a simple 'see you later, maybe'. When he brought it up, I realised --"

"Have we been broken up for months?" Tony asks, disbelief on his face. "And we didn't even know?" 

Matt reconsiders his words before he makes a look of realisation, "Huh... I think so."

"I've had break-ups before. Good ones like Jess, bad ones like that one dude from M.I.T.... but never have I had a break-up where neither of us knew it even happened," Tony says, not knowing if that was sad or funny.

"I don't even know if this is hilarious or just sad," Matt says, voicing Tony's thoughts. "So we already made the decision a long time ago."

"And we've been just fine," Tony says. "So, we just keep going as we are." 

"Yup," Matt agrees. "But no longer as boyfriends." 

"Just friends."

"_Best_ friends," Matt corrects, shit-eating grin on his face. Tony nudges him and they both laugh before getting back to their work and studies.

> "And that was it. Of all my break-ups, I would say the one with Matt was the cleanest. This was the end and we were totally cool with it. Because for some reason, we didn't even know we'd been broken up long enough to move on. When a woman hit on Matt at MacLaren's the next evening, I didn't even care. We told the others we'd broken up, and that was it. The break-up with Jessica back in 1997 is a close second. Mostly due to how short the fling was and how neither of us were that into it, so we agreed to just go back to friends. While these break-ups were good, it didn't change the fact that there will inevitably be bad ones, I just didn't know that, but more on that later."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos appreciated! <3


	12. 3x3: 2:43AM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol, Val, Tony, Thor and Matt go for Halloween and Tony meets another old friend.

> "In the fall of 2001, I was fully comfortable with my role at Stark Industries and life began to slow down. Matt had taken his exam by then. We briefly revisited the idea of getting back together like we originally planned to, but realised we just weren't that into being together again, so we left the idea all together and decided to remain just friends. Anyway, October 31st was coming up and it was Carol's favourite holiday, so she suggested that we --"

* * *

**OCTOBER, 2001**

* * *

"-- go trick-or-treating!" Carol says. "I have this cool Obi-Wan costume I got a while back."

"Every year, I go as Darth Vader because I get to do the cool breathy voice," Tony laughs, remembering when he would just do choke holds on random people who would play along. "I don't mind coming along. I can take a day off. What about the rest of you?"

Thor thinks, "I'm sure I have a Link from Legends of Zelda costume." He pauses, "Or was it Peter Pan... They're both green..."

"I'm not going," Jessica says. "Running a little long on a case and I need it done as soon as possible."

Val frowns, "Aw, man. Halloween is more fun when all of us are there." 

Matt says, "If you need help, you can just call us. Also, I think I have an Anakin costume from when my old dorm-mate tried to take me to Halloween."

"You can't go as me," Tony says, jeering dramatically. Matt smiles, waving a hand as if to say 'don't worry about it'.

"What are you going as?" Carol asks Val. 

Val shrugs, "I don't know, I have this old Wonder Woman costume. I don't even know if I still fit." 

"You would look so hot. You should go as her," Carol says. 

> "Val spent an hour looking for her Wonder Woman costume after that. When Halloween came around, Matt, Thor, Val, Carol and I went trick-or-treating. Yes, we're all over 20 years old. So what? Trick-or-treating is fun."

"The Darth Vader costume looks amazing!" Carol compliments, looking over Tony. "How many years straight have you worn this?" Tony holds up three fingers -- he hadn't gone trick-or-treating until he and Thor moved in together, and it just became a yearly tradition on Halloween. Thor was dressed as Link from Legend of Zelda and Matt was in a costume of a secret agent. Carol turns to look at Val's costume and says, "I knew you would look hot! That's so gorgeous."

Val's face is red as Carol takes her arm, pulling her along to get candy. Thor, Matt and Tony laugh before Matt says, "I should go ahead. Carol, wait up!" Carol slows down and links her arm with Matt's, stringing him along.

"I thought you said your break-up was fine," Thor says once they're left behind by Carol, Val and Matt. "It looked fine." 

"Yeah, it is. Just a _little_ bit awkward," Tony replies. "We'll be over it soon, though. He said it himself, he's only being awkward because waiting for the bar exam results is sending him spiralling so he's a little out of it." 

"Ah," Thor nods. "Are either of you going to start dating again?"

"I mean, we've been broken up for months, whether I'm counting the official break-up or not. I'm fine if he wants to date someone else and I'm sure he'll be fine with me too." 

Thor nods again, looking around, "Do you think that R2-D2 trick-or-treater from two years ago will be here?" 

Tony sighs longingly, "God, I hope so. Their costume is so cool, with the beeping sounds and all that." 

Thor leans in, saying with a playful voice, "I made out with the R2-D2 guy that time." 

"No way!" Tony says, leaning backwards so he can look at Thor. "So he's hot?"

"Hot," Thor grins. "_And_ a good kisser." 

"Damn it," Tony says, fake-bummed. "If we see him this year, it's my turn." Val suddenly runs back to them, looking flustered, and Tony asks, "What happened?"

Val explains, a wide smile on her face, "Carol kissed me." 

"And you're telling us? Go ask her out!" Thor says as if Val is crazy, turning her back around by her shoulders. "You can tell us about it later." 

"You would think Halloween is the night of scares, but Val's getting some," Tony laughs. 

"So's Matt, I guess," Thor points out. Matt is talking to a lady in a devil costume. She laughs at something he says. "How's work treating you?"

"Making me very lonely, actually," Tony says quietly, giving a plastic smile as a woman walks past, dropping chocolates into he and Thor's candy bags. Once she goes off, Tony says, "I've finally gotten into the swing of things so it's not so hectic now, but it also means more free time in my day and I have no partner to occupy my time... It's just highlighting how lonely I am."

> "After trick-or-treating, we all went to MacLaren's to take photos and consolidate our candy winnings so we could split them between ourselves. We'd give candies we didn't want to someone who wanted it. After that, we all split ways, but I sat outside MacLaren's, at the steps of me and Thor's apartment complex.

"Tony, come on," Thor says from the steps of the building. "What are you even sitting out here for? It's cold and late." 

"I'm lonely," Tony mutters. "Might as well sit here." 

"You don't have to be alone," Thor replies. "Look, if you really want to sit outside, at least do it tomorrow, in the morning. What are you waiting for?"

"Somebody to love," Tony answers. "And not the Queen song." Thor gives him that look -- the one that Tony had come to know as the 'Really, Tony?' face and Tony says, "Listen, I know. The odds are, the love of my life isn't going to magically walk by at..." He checks the clock on his phone. "...2:43 in the morning. But it just seems as nice a spot as any to just, you know, sit and wait.

Thor stands for a moment, thinking about what to do, before he shrugs off his jacket and places it on Tony's shoulders, "Don't stay out too late. Goodnight, Tony." Tony waves goodbye and Thor goes back into the building. A few seconds after Thor leaves, Tony hears shuffling feet and the clicks of crutches. When he looks up, he sees a man in a red jacket, blonde hair with green eyes, crutches under his arms and a leg in a cast. 

> "And right there, 2:43AM outside MacLaren's, he stopped."

"Tony?" 

"Peter," Tony exhales, standing up and taking in the full sight of Peter Quill. "Holy shit, what happened to you?" Besides the obvious crutches and cast, Peter's shirt was a little small so it raised up the slightest bit because of the crutches, showing the bandages around his body. He also looked tired and like he's fighting off a headache. 

"Just a car accident a few months ago. I got discharged last month and Jessica hired me yesterday as her secretary," Peter explains dismissively. "No big deal. Why are you sitting out here?" 

Tony splutters, helping Peter sit down on the steps of the building, "Who cares about me? You were in a _car accident_! What do you mean no big deal? You should have called me, I would have visited you."

"I didn't want to bother you," Peter says quietly. "And even if I wanted to, I, uh... I didn't have your number." 

Tony curses himself inwardly for not calling Peter when he had his number and sighs, "I'll give you my number later. I just... God, I'm sorry. If I knew, I would have called and visited. What'd you get away with?" 

"Broken leg, obviously," Peter answers, nodding to his crutches. "Uh, I've got two cracked ribs but they're healing well. These bandages will come off in a while, and the cast. Also a concussion. It's _mild_, though, so I'm good. Just that I get headaches and I'm a little off here and there. But I'm good, promise."

"Jesus, Peter," Tony says in disbelief. "What about the bill? Last time we spoke, you didn't have a lot of money."

"Yup, my headache just came back," Peter mumbles, putting his hands to the sides of his head. "It's a nightmare. I can't even work because of my condition. Mantis and my mom are working harder so they can pay it off. I was lucky that Jessica happened to see my accident on the news and offered to hire me so I could pay the bill. Claire, the nurse that brought me to the hospital, asked if I wanted to be transferred to her clinic because she won't have as high a bill, but my mom insisted I stay at a 'real hospital'."

"She's right," Tony agrees. He looks over Peter again and whispers, "Shit. You could have died."

Peter tries, "Tony, I promise I'm fine."

"Is it okay to hug you? With your broken ribs..." 

"Yeah, it's okay. Just not too hard." 

Tony gently puts his arms around Peter, letting him decide how far he can lean into the embrace. Tony says, "I'm really glad you're alive, Peter." 

Peter doesn't say anything to that, an arm coming up to put it around Tony's body, "I'm just glad to see you again. Feels like things are finally going back to normal." 

> "Things were far from going back to normal... In fact, they'll never be normal again. But I wouldn't have it any other way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos appreciated! <3


	13. 3x4: Go For It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunited with Peter, Tony talks to Jessica and Matt.

> "Kids, in the fall of 2001, I met your uncle Peter again. It had been by sheer coincidence. Or, well, destiny. He'd gotten discharged from the hospital after a car accident just the month before and was trying to get a cab to Hell's Kitchen to meet Jessica when he saw me outside MacLaren's at 2:43 in the morning. We talked for a while and then I helped him to Jessica's place and we talked."

Tony knocks on the glass cover on the door. When Jessica quit the NYPD to pursue a career as a private investigator, she'd forked out some money to get a window for the door, gold lettering on it reading 'ALIAS INVESTIGATIONS'.

Jessica opens the door, her laptop in her other hand. The screen is up and the light illuminates her face as she says, not looking up, "Hey, Quill."

"Hey, Jess," Tony says. Jessica pauses and finally pulls her gaze upwards, seeing Peter and Tony.

She steps aside to let them both in before closing the door, saying to Peter, "I thought you didn't want him to know." 

"Well, yeah, but things just went a little wrong in that department," Peter replies. Tony takes the crutches from Peter and Jessica helps him to the desk she'd gotten for him to use as a secretary. 

She says, uncertain, "You sure you didn't mind coming over so late? Because if you want, you can just go home. Seeing you here now, I feel... kind of bad asking you over at 3 in the morning." 

Peter waves as if to say it's fine, and starts working on the computer. Jessica had already written what she needed on a post-it left on the computer screen, so he didn't need to ask her. Tony asks, "Jessica, can I talk to you?" Jessica nods and follows him to her bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

"Before you chew me out, he made me promise not to tell you. He was never even going to tell me, I found out when I was watching some late night news and he showed up. I went to find the woman who brought him to the hospital, Claire, she told me where he was. I went to see him and we talked. We agreed that one he's stable enough, I'll hire him at Alias Investigations so he can earn some money from light work that he can use for the bill. Because, let's face it, he's not gonna take money he didn't earn," Jessica says.

"Yeah, he won't," Tony nods, sighing. "I get where you and he are coming from, I guess. If I was him, I wouldn't tell anyone either."

Jessica sits down on the bed, looking out at the neon signs on the block next to her window, "I should get something done about that. Whenever Matt comes over, he complains about the neon signs being too noisy. And Peter with his concussion, I don't know if he can hear the buzzing of the neon like Matt can, but I want to make this as easy on him as possible." 

"Maybe we can get an actual sign made for them so they'll take the neon down. Or at least turn it off until Peter's better," Tony suggests. Jessica nods thoughtfully and Tony adds, "Oh yeah, I wanted to ask something of you."

"Shoot"

"I know that I found out, but I hope we can just keep it as just us two. Don't tell the others that you have a secretary. I don't want him to feel overwhelmed or anything. He told me he still gets headaches often and I read up about concussions on the cab ride here. I asked him and irritability, concentration trouble and headaches seem to be his biggest problems," Tony says, leaning against the wall.

Jessica says, "Yeah, our friends would kind of overwhelm him, wouldn't they? Sure, I'll keep him a secret. I'll even ask Matt to stop coming over for now, say I have a private case or something." 

"Thanks a lot, Jess," Tony says. He looks at the clock on her wall -- it's nearing 3:30 -- and says, "I have to wake up for work in four hours, so I think I'm going home. Goodnight." 

Jessica scoffs, standing to follow Tony out of her bedroom, "You say goodnight like I'm getting any sleep. But goodnight." 

Peter looks up from the computer, a hand pressed to his temple, and asks, "You're leaving?"

"Yeah. Try to catch some naps here and there. Take it easy, buddy," Tony says, taking an empty post-it and writing on it. "I said I'd give you my number, so here it is. Goodnight." 

"Goodnight, Tony," Peter replies, taking the post-it from him before he leaves Jessica's apartment. 

> "Eventually October became December. Jessica kept her promise of not telling the others about her secretary, so Peter's life was a lot more peaceful. She even managed to work out a deal with the neon sign owner. Peter was feeling a lot better with me and Jessica's help. In December, I realised my feelings for him from 1999 had never gone away, and spending all that time helping him and his family out was just making me like him even more. But if you recall, Matt and I broke up earlier that year, so I felt like I had to ask him."

* * *

**DECEMBER, 2001**

* * *

When Thor leaves MacLaren's with Carol and Val and Jessica didn't come at all, it left Matt and Tony alone. This is the first time they'd been left alone since their break-up where neither of them tried to leave early. 

"So how'd the bar exam go?" Tony asks.

"I'm graduating, so you can say it went great," Matt smiles. 

Tony mirrors his grin, "Congratulations. Nobody deserves that win more than you. When's the graduation?"

"Last week of December. I'll tell you guys closer to the date," Matt assures. "Don't worry about it for now. What about you?" 

"Stark Industries is great, I'm actually working on that pair of glasses you wanted," Tony says. "But I wanted to ask you about something." 

"What?"

Tony links his hand together; He had no idea why he's so anxious to ask this. They've been apart for months, even longer than that if they were counting the time they have been unofficially broken up. They've moved on. Matt even hooked up with some woman just the month before. He says, "So, I met someone."

"Are you trying to ask me if you can date them?" Matt asks, teasing smile on his face.

"Well, yeah," Tony admits. "Actually, I met him years ago, but things didn't work out because of his situation and we fell out of contact. I found him a while back and my feelings for him haven't gone away... We broke up in August, so I just felt like I had to ask you for... for permission, I guess."

Matt chuckles, saying, "Tony, I hooked up with a woman last month. Obviously, I'm okay if you want to date this guy. I don't mind." 

"You sure?" Tony asks, beginning to get excited at the idea of asking Peter out. Though, a part of him fears that Peter will turn him down again.

"Yes, I'm sure," Matt says. "Go for it. When will I get to meet him?" 

"I don't know. Kind of a sticky situation right now, but I'll introduce you guys when he's ready," Tony promises. "Thanks, Matt. You're the coolest." 

Matt smiles into his drink, saying, "Didn't I tell you that when we first met? 'I think you'll find that I'm pretty cool'." 

"And you definitely are."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos appreciated! <3


	14. 4x1: Red Velvet Cake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony introduces Peter to his friends.

> "Kids, in the February of 2002, I had a new boyfriend after my ex, your uncle Matt, gave me permission to date Peter, the singer at Knowhere I met in 1999. When I met him again in October 2001, he'd just gotten out of a car accident, so when I asked him out in December and he said yes, I waited for a while before introducing him to my friends, which is what I did in February."

* * *

**FEBRUARY, 2002**

* * *

"Hey, big news, everyone," Tony says once he and Thor are seated in the booth. Val, Jessica and Matt are there, with Loki and Carol there after going to the bar when their shifts at Asgard ended. 

"Yeah, I knew news was coming. Something's been different about you," Val notes. 

Tony grins, announcing, "I have a boyfriend and I'd like you guys to meet him." 

Everyone except Jessica steals glances at Matt, who takes their silence as hesitation to react, and he clarifies, "It's okay, guys. I approved." They all break into grins.

"Tony, that's awesome!" Thor cheers, hugging Tony. "When can we meet him?" 

"If everyone's free tonight, we can go see him," Tony says. When everyone nods to say they're all free, Tony claps his hands together once, "Great. We're supposed to see him at 8 at Knowhere, so we can just chill out here for a while before we go."

"How'd you guys meet?" Carol asks.

Tony answers, finishing off the drink Jessica ordered for him earlier, "At Knowhere. And now you guys are gonna meet him for the first time there too. Cool, huh?" 

"Not that cool," Jessica says. "I didn't meet him the first time at Knowhere, only the second time."

Thor frowns, "Jessica met him already?"

Jessica shrugs, "It was way back in 1999." 

"It took you _three years_ to secure the bag? It's 2002," Loki says, surprised.

"Well, the second time we met, I asked him to go out with me and he turned me down because he was busy. But I met him again on Halloween last year and in December I asked him out again. This time, he said yes," Tony explains.

"Wait, Halloween? He showed up right after I went upstairs?" Thor asks. At Tony's affirmation, Thor sighs in disappointment, "Damn it. Almost met him." 

"Slow as always, brother," Loki teases, causing Thor to push him in mock offence.

"But if you've been dating for two months, why'd it take you so long to introduce us? You didn't take that long when you dated Matt," Val points out.

"There were complications. I'll explain later. Either way, you're gonna meet him soon. Let's move," Tony says, standing. Everyone follows suit as they leave MacLaren's to walk to Knowhere. 

> "About six minutes past 8, we reached Knowhere and walked in. There were some people there other than us, and your uncle Peter was performing. Once his cast was off and ribs healed, Knowhere hired him back."

Instantly, anyone in the group who isn't Tony or Jessica starts looking around Knowhere, trying to find any man sitting alone that could be Tony's boyfriend. There was a brunet man sitting at a single table, and another blonde one at another.

"Which one is it? Brown or blonde?" Carol asks in a hushed voice as the singer finished off the song he'd been playing. "Is he even here yet?"

Once Peter had ended the song, he goes to the back room to get a drink of water. Tony smiles to himself as they all find a table big enough for all of them and sit. A waiter comes over with a menu as Tony says, "Relax, you'll meet him. Just order something." They all told the waiter their orders, and Tony asks for two slices of red velvet cake, like the first time he and Peter had eaten together.

"_Someone's_ hungry," Loki comments. "Or is that for your boyfriend?"

"Yep," Tony says, not elaborating any further. The small crowd claps as Peter comes back onto the small platform, guitar in hand.

"_April Come She Will_ by Simon and Garfunkel," he says into the microphone before he starts to strum his guitar, singing. "_April, come she will. When streams are ripe and swelled with rain. May, she will stay, resting in my arms again..._"

A smile creeps onto Val's face and she leans over to Tony, asking quietly, "Does he have an agent?" 

"You want to be everyone's agent," Matt jokes.

"Hey, she only wants to be agents of the _best_," Carol defends, kissing Val's cheek. 

> "Oh, don't know why I forgot to clarify this bit. Since kissing on Halloween, they started dating. Anyway..."

"No, he doesn't have an agent," Jessica answers. Val sits up straighter, ready to ask him to be her client once he finishes the song. 

"_July, she will fly, and give no warning to her flight_," Peter sings delicately, handling every word with care. "_August, die she must, the autumn winds blow chilly and cold. September, I'll remember, a love once new has now grown old_..." 

The guitar slows down and the sound fades into silence before the cashiers, some free waiters and the patrons clap for him. Peter holds up a hand in silent thanks before he puts the guitar down on the stand the staff had gotten for him as a welcome back present. Thor whispers, "He's _amazing_."

"I know," Tony smiles.

"Hey, hope you liked that," Peter says as he stops in front of their table. "I'm Peter Quill. It's really nice to meet you."

Loki frowns in confusion, "I suppose it's nice to meet you too?"

Peter blinks before he laughs at Tony, "You wanted this to be a surprise, huh?"

When Tony grins, Carol realises, "Wait, you're..."

"Tony's boyfriend. Hi," Peter introduces, taking the empty seat. Tony pushes the extra red velvet cake to him and Peter smiles gratefully, "Aw, thanks. I didn't manage to get any dinner."

"We've got to work on you having some actual meals," Tony says, shaking his head. Peter gives him that adorable, slightly clueless look, his mouth full with cake, and Tony sighs, smiling. Tony introduces, pointing at each respective person as he says their name, "So this is Carol Danvers, Brunnhilde Valkyrie -- you can just call her Val -- Matt Murdock, Thor Odinson and his brother Loki. You already know Jess."

Peter turns to Thor and says, "You're Thor? I named your café!"

Thor grins excitedly, "That was you? It's an amazing name. Thank you!"

"Jessica got me coffee from your place once and I loved it. I should come in sometime," Peter says.

The interaction reminds Jessica of something and she says to Val, "Oh yeah, buy him that drink."

"What drink?" Val asks, confused.

Jessica explains, "You said if you ever met the guy who gave me that review of Heroes for Hire, you'd buy him a drink. So, when you can, buy him that drink."

Val's eyes widen in realisation and she asks Peter, "That was you?"

"I'm getting 'that was you?' a lot today," Peter jokes. "But yeah, that was me."

"I'll buy you a drink, just call me whenever you're near MacLaren's," Val says and Peter nods.

Loki asks, "Why'd it take so long for the introduction, by the way?"

"Short version; Car accident, concussion and broken leg," Peter summarises. "But as you can see, no cast and I'm pretty alright." Everyone's mouth falls open slightly (except for Jessica and Tony, who already knew) at the information.

"That's horrible. At least you're alright now," Thor says, putting a comforting hand on Peter's shoulder.

Peter beams at him, "Thanks. So, how's life going for all of you? I can talk for about five minutes more before I gotta get back up there for another half hour."

"Can I be your talent agent?" Val takes the chance to ask. "You have a lot of talent and, I believe, a lot of potential to make it big out there. I'd be honoured to help you. Because you're Tony's boyfriend, I'll lower my price?" 

Peter makes an unsure face, "It's really nice of you to offer, but I'm very low on cash right now." 

> "Your aunt Val is always trying to get a really good client. But I've never seen her so desperate for any client until that night." 

"Free," Val says. "I'll be your agent for _free_."

Peter's eyes widen in surprise, not expecting the generous offer, and he asks, "Are you sure?"

"Very. Peter, you are a _talent_. I'd be an idiot if I don't try to pick you up. Look, if not paying me makes you feel bad, you can pay me back when you can, no rush," Val says, determined to secure Peter. "I'll give you my number and you can call me whenever you've made a decision." 

"Alright, I'll take your number," Peter nods, passing his phone to her so she can key her number in. Somehow, that became a silent call for everyone at the table to input their numbers into Peter's phone, which had Peter keying his own into everyone else's. "So how about everyone else?"

"I'm working for Jeri Hogarth, a really good lawyer," Matt answers. "Jessica's P.I. business is going pretty well."

Peter smiles, "Oh, I know. I'm her secretary. I've helped with a few cases."

"What the -- You're dating Jessica's secretary?" Carol asks Tony.

"In my defence, I met him first," Tony points out. "Anyway, Loki's graduating from theatre school next year."

"That's awesome," Peter says. "And what about you, Thor?" 

> "Around this point of time, Val was securing some pretty good talents, Carol had a girlfriend and was having fun at her Asgard job. Loki's acting skills were getting really good, Matt's career is finally starting and Stark Industries was almost done with its first project under me. But it all left Thor thinking about how he had only a café to his name. Even though Carol was pretty much in the same situation as him and was happy, he just wasn't. He felt like he was missing something, but he didn't know what it was."

"I have no idea what I'm looking for in my life," Thor answers absently.

Peter pats his back comfortingly, saying, "In my experience, sometimes the thing you've been looking for has been by your side all along." After that, he returns to the platform, ready to continue his set. 

> "He already found what he was looking for, actually. But that's a story for another time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos appreciated! <3


	15. 4x2: Darth Vader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica and Peter come to an agreement and the group goes to a Halloween party.

> "Kids, you know the private investigator business doesn't usually bode well for a stable salary, but nobody knows that better than Jessica. If you recall, she quit the NYPD to start up Alias Investigations back in 1999. Then she hired my boyfriend Peter as her secretary so he could pay off a hospital bill. You're both smart enough to put two and two together and figure out that that means she had --"

* * *

**JUNE, 2002**

* * *

"-- no money to pay you," Jessica says.

Peter blinks at her from his desk, the one she'd bought for him even before he'd been discharged. He hadn't been expecting that. He says, "Well, you don't have to pay me on time, I'm cool."

Jessica shakes her head and clarifies, "No, I mean. I have no money to pay you. I've been sober for days because I can't lock down a proper case and get my pay to split with you."

"Are you firing me?" he asks.

She nods, sighing, "I have to let you go. I'm sorry. I know you still have a little ways to go to afford the bill, which frankly is insane, but I'm not making you work knowing that I can't pay you. I'm sorry, maybe Tony can pay off the last bit and you can return the favour to him."

Peter knows it's no use arguing with Jessica. When her mind is made up, nobody is changing it. He stands up, taking his phone and wallet with him, "If you need help with any cases, you know I'm a phone call away. Thanks for helping me the past months."

Jessica rolls her eyes, "Don't tell anyone I did this." Before Peter can ask her what exactly she means by 'this', Jessica pulls him into a hug. "I'll admit, my cases were a little more enjoyable with you around. I know we'll see each other at MacLaren's, but I'll miss the late nights with you."

Peter smiles, hugging back, "I would say call me over whenever you want, but you know my mom. But yeah, I'm gonna miss it too. I'll see you at MacLaren's tonight."

> "What did Peter mean by his mom? Well, she wasn't feeling very well. Peter said headaches and dizzy spells were a pretty common thing for her, but she refused to see a doctor despite Mantis and him asking her to, and she said she was fine. At that time, it was beginning to get so bad that she couldn't work anymore, so Peter couldn't just hang out with Jessica, he had to take care of her."

"You too," Jessica says. "Also, are we telling your boyfriend about this?"

Peter presses his lips together before saying, "Think he'll just try to pay my salary for you. I don't think he has to know you fired me."

* * *

Peter walks into MacLaren's in the afternoon, where Tony was along with Val. They both smile upon seeing him and Peter kisses Tony, mumbling hello against his lips before slipping into the booth next to him.

"Ew, PDA. Cap it," Val jokes, turning away in fake disgust.

"Don't talk like you and Carol aren't the same," Tony jeers. Val waves him off, grinning as Tony kisses Peter a few more times.

"What's gotten into you?" Peter laughs, leaning away so he can take a sip of the drink Tony ordered for him before he arrived. "Not that I'm complaining."

"I haven't seen you for like two days, babe. I missed you," Tony smiles. Peter chuckles, shaking his head as he kisses Tony's temple.

Peter asks, "Thor and Carol are at Asgard?"

Val nods, typing into her laptop, "Yup, and Matt's at Hogarth's office with Jennifer Walters. Don't know where Jess is."

When Tony and Val look at him, Peter raises an eyebrow, "Why are you looking at me?"

"Wouldn't you know where Jess is?" Val asks.

"Oh, yeah. She's trying to land a case that'll pay well," Peter says.

Val frowns, "She did mention she was running a little low on work. Said something about how people were being nicer recently for some reason."

Tony asks Peter, concerned, "She can still pay you, right?"

Peter replies, watching the doorway, "Yeah, yeah. She's fine. Is that Thor?"

Right then, Thor walks in with Carol and Loki. Thor squeezes in next to Peter and Carol and Loki sit next to Val. Thor grins at Peter, greeting, "Hi everyone."

"Hey," Peter smiles. "Lunch break?"

"Yeah. We've got an hour before getting back," Carol answers. "Hi, baby."

Val kisses her and Loki groans, "I'm a single man surrounded by idiots in love."

"Except for poor Thor," Carol says once she and Val pull away, pouting dramatically.

Thor laughs, but it hits Loki as nervous, and says, "Yeah, poor me."

> "That year, we decided to do Halloween a little differently. Instead of trick-or-treating like we normally did, we went to a party Carol's friend, Talos, got us into."

* * *

**OCTOBER, 2002**

* * *

"That's my Han," Tony grins, taking off the Darth Vader helmet to kiss Peter hello.

Peter returns the kiss happily, saying, "Except I'm not flying Solo tonight."

"Gross," Matt laughs. "I came to this party for a break and yet I'm not getting any of it."

"Nobody asked you to listen, Matt," Peter smiles. "But put that helmet of yours back on, Stark. Can't have people seeing the true face of Darth Vader."

"Okay, Quill," Tony teases. "Sorry, _Han Solo_. Still think Thor should have gone as Chewie."

Tony went as Darth Vader, just like he always did. Peter went as Han Solo. Matt had dressed up as a ninja, Carol as Rey and Val as Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars, Jessica as Miss Peregrine. Thor decided last minute to be Anakin Skywalker, borrowing the costume from Matt. Tony, as a joke, almost wanted to start an overdramatic scene about Thor being the same character as him for Halloween, until Peter sided with there being two Anakins in their group. Carol laughs at how Matt and Jessica are the only non-Star Wars members of their group.

"Yeah, but I don't have time to find a Chewie costume," Thor says. "Plus, Matt's old costume fit me fine, so why spend money to get something else?"

"Points were made," Tony sighs. "Jessica's costume is super cool, though."

Jessica takes the pipe out from between her lips and says, "Cheap costume, but we know I'm selling it." 

"You always do," Val says, pretending to check her out. Carol slaps her arm and they both laugh.

"Come on, Talos will let us in," Carol says. "God, it's been so long since I saw him. I wonder how he's doing."

After Talos let them in -- with Carol's surprised "You have a kid now?" -- the group started splitting up around the house. Jessica and Val obviously head straight to finding the alcohol. Carol goes to meet Talos' daughter. Matt finds himself talking to a man dressed as Superman. Without Loki around, Thor decides to stick to Peter and Tony. While Tony is talking to a girl dressed as someone faintly familiar, he realises Thor and Peter have long disappeared into the crowd. 

"Hey, who are you dressed as, by the way?" Tony asks.

The girl smiles charmingly, answering, "Christine from Phantom of the Opera. I know the costume isn't so obvious, I didn't have time to get a better one."

"It's not that bad," Tony says, taking off his helmet so he can get a better look at her. "I'm Tony, by the way."

"Christine," she says. 

Tony gives her an amused smile, "Yeah, I know. But what's your name?" 

"Christine," she repeats. "Christine _Palmer_. Not Daaé."

"Oh! Oh, smart," Tony laughs. "You here alone?"

Christine nods, "Yeah, with my best friend, his boyfriend and his roommate. I don't know where they are, though. You?"

"With my boyfriend and my friends, but I've no clue where any of them are either," Tony chuckles. "If you didn't come with a Phantom or a Raoul, I would be disappointed."

Christine's lip quirks up in a smile as she assures, "My best friend came as the Phantom, with the mask. His boyfriend and roommate are the opera owners. No Raoul though. Maybe next time."

"That's awesome, running theme," Tony replies. "We're all Star Wars except two of us. Miss Peregrine and a damn ninja. We tried getting them to be Stormtroopers at first but decided against it." 

"Why? It would be epic," Christine asks.

Tony answers, "Well, one of them can't see, for starters."

"I'm sure the helmet's not that difficult to --" Christine starts before she cuts herself off. "Oh. _Oh_. Sorry, I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes."

"It's cool. I think we're all like that," Tony says. "When are you leaving?"

"All four of us are leaving before 10, we've got class tomorrow," Christine answers. "What about you and your friends?"

Tony shrugs, "Different times for all of us, but I think our dear ninja is gonna leave early. Parties aren't his thing so he doesn't stay very long. Think I'll stick around till 11."

Christine starts to turn away, saying, "Cool. See you around, Vader."

"Sing the house down, Angel of Music," Tony replies.

Christine laughs, shaking her head, "She's not the Angel of Music, the Phantom is."

"Just let me have this," Tony says dramatically. "But see you around too."

"Who's that?" Jessica asks once Christine is lost to the crowd. 

Tony replies, "Her name's Christine, dressed as Phantom of the Opera's Christine." Jessica nods approvingly, commenting on how the costume doesn't look bad. Peter and Thor suddenly return to Tony's side. 

"Hey, babe. Where were you?" Tony asks.

"Hearing that with the mask is so weird," Peter laughs. "But we were catching some air at the balcony, there's so many people here. Carol's friend has an _awesome_ house." 

Thor agrees before saying hurriedly, "I'm gonna go find Val. I think I'm leaving by midnight."

"So am I," Peter says. "What about you, Tony?"

"11," Tony replies. "Work tomorrow." 

"Do you want me to leave with you?" Peter asks.

"Nah, stay if you want. Have fun. It's Halloween!" Tony says, taking off the helmet to kiss Peter. He grins into the kiss and mutters thanks, leaving Tony's side to follow Jessica who pulls him aside.

> "It's so weird looking back on this party now... knowing what I know about everyone. Life's weird like that, isn't it? The way you just don't know how things turn out until you're in it."

Tony hears someone say "That Darth Vader is so cool. I should have come as a Star Wars character" as he walks past. 

> "It's amazing how much we don't realise things are exactly where they're supposed to be, even when it's right in front of you. We don't really appreciate it until it's not there anymore, which is kinda unfair since we never know what's coming. And something was coming our way. Specifically, your uncle Peter's way. But I'll get to that next." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos and comments appreciated <3


	16. 4x3: Star-Lord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter receives stunning news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW/ death

> "In the November of 2002, your uncle Peter had the worst year of his life. I see your faces. Yes, all this is relevant to how I met your father."
> 
> James sighs, "Dad, the story can't be this long. Why can't you just skip to the part where you actually meet him?"
> 
> "_This long_? I'm already cutting out anything not even remotely related to the story, it just so happens that uncle Peter's story has a big role in mine, because if we didn't have his story, I might have never met your father. Hey, the story _could_ have been five times longer. If it wasn't important to the story, I wouldn't say it. This is as short as it's gonna get."
> 
> Morgan nods supportively, "I get it, Dad. Just go on. Why was November 2002 the worst year of Uncle Peter's life?"
> 
> "Thank you, Morgan. At least _someone_ appreciates my stories. Well, to give you the full story, I'll start with how all of us were called to MacLaren's to celebrate Loki graduating in January from theatre school."

* * *

**NOVEMBER, 2002**

* * *

"Hey, so what's the big news?" Val asks. "Carol couldn't come, unfortunately. Tony and Thor are on their way down right now but Peter is gonna be late."

"It's okay," Loki says. "As long as my main five are here."

"Aw, we're your main five?" Matt asks, teasing smile on his face. Loki shoves him and Matt laughs. Tony and Thor finally come in, sliding into the empty side of the booth across from Matt, Jessica and Val. Loki had a seat pulled over.

Loki answers Val's earlier question, "Well, I'm graduating this January."

"That's awesome!" Val says, leaning over to hug him. "I'm gonna be your agent."

"You haven't seen a single one of the plays I was in," Loki points out.

"Well, yeah, but I have faith you're gonna be awesome," Val says. smiling. "I'm gonna text Carol the news." While Matt, Tony and Jessica talk to Loki about what he plans to do after he graduates -- he was going to try and nail a role in a local play -- Thor points out that Peter was finally here.

He looks a little tense, but greets everyone with a smile nonetheless. Thor and Tony scoot over so Peter can sit with them in the booth, next to Thor since he was on the outside. Jessica narrows her eyes, reading his body language, and asks, "What happened?"

"Nothing," Peter answers.

> "That was a lie. To catch you up, you remember Peter mentioning that his mother hadn't been feeling well for quite a long time, but she refused to go to see a doctor. It got bad enough that she fainted and Peter and Mantis brought her to the hospital and found out she had cancer. She didn't have much time left because of how long they'd left it alone."

"What was the big news?" Peter asks.

"Loki's graduating in January," Tony answers.

Peter grins, patting Loki on the back, "Awesome, man. Can't wait to see you become a famous actor." Before Loki can reply, Peter's phone rings -- the opening tunes of _Come And Get Your Love_ \-- and he stands up, stepping over to the bar to pick up the call in private.

> "The moment your uncle Peter picked up the phone is the first time he ever broke down in his long and difficult life."

Peter comes back to the booth, crying as he says, "I'm sorry. I need to go."

"Wait, Peter," Jessica calls. "At least call us later."

Peter nods, walking away from the booth, "I will."

> "He didn't call us later. But I'm getting ahead of myself. While the rest of us tried to figure out what could have made Peter so upset, Peter hailed a cab and got a ride to the hospital."

"Peter Quill," Peter says at the counter. "I'm here to see Meredith Quill."

The clerk nods, handing him a visitor's pass, "The interning nurse, Stephen, he told me to just let you in. I'll handle the visitation registration for you." Peter mumbles a quick thank you before he runs down the halls, getting to room 616.

"Mom?" Peter whispers, dropping down onto his knees next to the bed so he's level with Meredith. "Mantis texted me, she's on the way."

"Peter, you're here," she smiles weakly. "I love you so much."

Peter starts crying, the stress and fear, accumulated from all his years of living, from the moment, all tipping over the brim and spilling out. He presses a kiss to her thin hand, "You can't leave me yet, Mom. I'm not ready."

She runs a hand through his hair, saying, "It will all be okay. You'll move on and life will be alright again."

"No, no," Peter splutters. "No, you can't -- It's too soon. You're too young. This isn't fair. I can't lose you yet."

She takes a gift from next to her pillow and passes it to him. A box wrapped in newspaper comic strips and a letter in an envelope. She says, "These are for you. Open them only after I'm gone."

"Mom, stop talking like you're going to die!" Peter says desperately.

Mantis suddenly runs in, finally there, and pleads, "Mom, you can't leave us!"

Meredith gives her a letter and a box of her own, wrapped in magazine cut-outs of flowers, and says, "Open when I'm gone."

Mantis cries, "It's too soon."

Meredith replies gently, "It's always going to be too soon. None of us are ever ready... The two of you have been the best part of my life. My sweet Mantis and my dear Star-Lord." Mantis presses a kiss to her forehead and Meredith exhales finally, "I love you."

"Mom?" Peter barely whispers. "Mom. _Mom_. Come on. I need you."

The world tunes to silence as Mantis returns with doctors, and he had no energy to resist when Mantis led him out of the room.

> "When Peter tells the hospital part of the story, he never got past this part. Mantis never told us it either. But we all knew how it would feel. The ending of this is... she didn't pull through. One of the first things everyone knew about Peter was that he loved his mother more than anything. So it was obvious he took it hard to lose her to cancer."

In the morning, Thor wakes up and walks into the living room to see Tony bringing his phone down from his ear. He asks, "Did Peter call?"

"This is like the twentieth call that's gone to voicemail," Tony says, concerned. "I'm really worried. I'm gonna take the day off, go visit him at that shelter he stays at." 

> "Wait, he didn't move in with you?" Morgan asks.
> 
> "At the time, we talked about it but Peter said no because of his mom, you know? Anyway, I went to the shelter to find him."

"Hey, Shuri," Tony says to the teenage girl he always saw around when he visited. "I'm looking for the Quill family?"

Shuri nods, leading him over, "I don't know if they're home yet, I didn't see. But I heard what happened to Miss Quill last night, so just a warning, the two might not be the most stable right now."

"Yeah, just wanted to check up on them," Tony says. Shuri stops in front of the room the Quill family was assigned to.

"If they're in there, let me know. I want to give condolences," Shuri says. Tony nods and she leaves him be. He takes a deep breath and knocks.

The door flies open and Mantis calls, "Peter? Is that --" She cuts herself off when she sees Tony and her hopeful expression drops. "Tony, hi."

"Mantis, how are you holding up?" Tony asks.

"Trying my best," Mantis answers. "I'll let myself be sad at night, the world is too negative for me to add on to that." Sweet Mantis, always putting everyone else before her.

"You know you have me if you need someone to talk to," Tony says. "But also, what did you mean when you thought I was Peter?"

"You don't know?" Mantis asks. At Tony shaking his head, she explains tensely, "After the doctor told us Mom... you know. He ran away. I tried to look for him and called him, but I think he turned his phone off. I don't know where he is, I've been trying to find him but I can't." 

Tony sighs in worry, "Shit. Do you know any places he goes to when he's sad? He usually came to my place when he needed to talk, but he's obviously not there." 

"No," Mantis says. "He never let himself feel anything... Whenever he felt sad, he just pushed it down. I guess it finally exploded. But I'm scared, he's never ever disappeared before. Sixteen hours..."

"We'll find him, okay? I bet he's fine. I'll ask the others too," Tony promises. 

> "Where was Peter? To answer that, I need to bring this story somewhere else. Peter went to the one place he knew he was safe: Missouri. Where his mom didn't die."

Peter walks down the quiet streets of his old neighbourhood in Missouri. He felt much better here. At least in Missouri, his mother didn't d-- _Leave_. His mother didn't leave. She's not dead. Of course she isn't. What an absurd thought. Maybe he's in denial. So what? He had the right to be.

He finally finds what he was looking for -- the small field his mother always brought him to, before she adopted Mantis and it was just the two of them. They would lie in the grass until the stars came out, listening to music. Peter sits down in the spot they always laid in and takes out the letter and box. He opens the envelope first.

_Peter, I know these last few months have been hard for you. The last few years, even. But I'm going on to a better place. And I will be okay. And I will always be with you. You are the light of my life. My precious son. My little Star-Lord._

_Love, Mom. _

Peter sighs, blinking hard to try not to cry again. It took him hours to stop once he started. He carefully takes off the comic strip wrapping paper and opens the box. A cassette tape titled Awesome Mix Vol. 2 and the Walkman his mother and him always listened to. 

> "Again, Peter never told us anything else past this part, so I'll take this back to New York City." 

"It's been, what, 24 hours now? He's still not back?" Carol asks. Jessica, Thor, Loki and Carol came over to MacLaren's as soon as possible, but Val and Matt were stuck at work.

"No. I'm following Mantis to file a missing person's report if he doesn't come back by tomorrow night," Tony says.

Thor suggests, "Would his other family know? His mom's pretty young, maybe his grandparents know where he is." 

Tony shakes his head, "No, Peter said they're on bad terms. They wouldn't know where he is."

Loki says, "I'm sure he'll come back by tomorrow."

> "He didn't come back for days, actually. He stayed in Missouri for over a week."
> 
> "What did he do?" Jason asks. 
> 
> "He won't tell us when he came back. We find out eventually, but more on that later."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	17. 4x4: And There He Was

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor finds him and Tony makes a new friend.

> "Kids, last we stopped, your uncle Peter lost his mother to cancer and he ran away to Missouri. He ran away on the 30th of November, and when it got to 2nd December, his adoptive sister Mantis and I went to file a missing person's report for him. When it got to the 4th, Thor got an idea."

* * *

**DECEMBER, 2002**

* * *

"I'm going to look for him," Thor says. Only Loki, Val, Jessica and Matt were at MacLaren's. Tony was now trying his best to catch up on all the work he fell behind on while worrying about Peter. Carol decided to skip out on her lunch break that day.

"Are you sure you'll be able to find him?" Matt asks.

"None of us are ever sure about anything," Thor says slowly. "But it's worth the try, right? I can't stand the idea of him being somewhere alone after losing the person he loved most. Nobody should be alone after that."

Val nods, "You're right. How are you going to start?"

"Do you think the NYPD will let me help as his friend?" Thor asks. "Jessica? You worked for the NYPD for a few months." 

Jessica sighs, finishing off her second bottle of the afternoon, "I don't know if the terms have changed, I worked for them in 1999. But as far as I know, not often, if at all. Confidentiality concerns. But they _might_ let you on the case privately, since you're one of his closest friends and may be helpful." 

"What about you, as former NYPD?" Loki suggests.

Jessica shrugs, "I might have more pull. I'll go round later and try to ask, maybe find a detective on his case who's got a heart." 

"Thank you," Thor says. "I've been thinking about him ever since he disappeared. I'm really worried about him." 

"Thor," Loki says. "Can I talk to you? In private?"

"Sure," Thor frowns in confusion at the sudden request. While Jessica, Val and Matt discuss what else they could do, Thor and Loki move to the bar-top to talk. Thor asks, "What did you want to say?" 

Loki says, voice low, "You know you can tell me everything, so tell me this. Do you have feelings for Peter?"

Thor's mouth falls open and he blinks, not expecting the question. Though, he makes his recovery quickly and replies, "What makes you think that?"

Loki says, "I don't know, it's just the way you're being about this. I know you're worried about him, we all are. But you're as worried as Tony is, and he's Peter's _boyfriend_. So I need to know, do you like him as more than a friend or not?" Thor takes a deep breath but before he can say anything, Loki adds, "Okay, you know what? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I know this is a very asshole-like thing to say but I think it's best if you let Tony help with the case instead of you."

Jessica walks up to them at the bar-top, phone in hand, and says, "I called Malcolm Ducasse, this dude I was friends with in the NYPD. He happens to be on Peter's case and doesn't mind letting you help privately. If you still want to do this, I'll text him your number and he'll call you when he thinks you can assist. So, you up for it or not?"

Thor glances at Loki who raises an eyebrow, tilting his head towards Jessica to get him to answer her quickly. He presses his lips together before he finally says, "Can you give him Tony's number instead?"

Jessica furrows her eyebrows, "I thought _you_ wanted to do this." 

"Well, yeah, but I think Tony would feel better if he knows he can help," Thor says. "It's fine. Just give him Tony's number." 

"Okay, if you say so," Jessica says, walking away to text Tony's number to Malcolm.

"It's the right thing to do, Thor," Loki says, placing a hand on his back. "I'm just trying to look out for you. I don't know if you do have feelings for him or not, but you know this will end badly for someone."

Thor nods reluctantly, "You're right, brother. Someone will get hurt." 

> "He's right, but more on that later. Malcolm called me a few times over the next few days and I tried my best to help him out. But eventually 4th of December turns to 10th. Mantis said she was going to pack for Missouri, see if maybe he went there as a last ditch effort. We didn't check Missouri because, as I said before, they were on bad terms with their extended family who lived there. So while I was at the shelter with Mantis, Thor was thinking about how he had Jessica give Malcolm my number instead." 

Thor sat in MacLaren's alone. Matt at work, Jessica is at her apartment working on a new case, Carol with Val at her office, Loki finishing up any last minute business at school before his graduation in two weeks. Tony at the shelter with Mantis about to head to Missouri. He thought about how Malcolm had Tony's number instead and how Peter had been missing for over a week.

_Should he go to Missouri too? No, Tony and Mantis will wonder why he's there and then he'll have to admit that he_... Thor sighs, his call log full of bounced calls to Peter. He must have had his phone off for days. Maybe he should leave it to Tony and Mantis. If anyone could bring him back, it's his boyfriend and sister. Peter will be home -- back with his friends in no time. 

Yet he finds himself standing, walking down the street to find a good spot to get a cab so he can get a train to Missouri. _Why was it raining?_ It wasn't raining when he came downstairs to MacLaren's. 

> "Kids, this is just one of those rare moments in life where things, quite literally, fall into place, just the way fate would have it." 

Right before a cab could stop in front of him, Thor realises he forgot his phone at MacLaren's and he turns back to get it, narrowly missing someone holding a cup of coffee. He mutters a quick apology, stepping aside and tripping on a fire hydrant behind him he hadn't seen. He instinctively grabs onto the nearest thing to him in an attempt to break his fall and unfortunately, it happened to be another person. The man he held on to manages to catch himself, arm grabbing Thor's and stopping him from falling. Thor lifts a hand over his eyes to avoid the rain, recollecting himself to see who helped him. 

> "And there he was. Peter Jason Quill."

Thor pulls him into a hug before he can think, saying, "You're okay, oh my God."

Peter returns the hug, saying, "I'm sorry I didn't return anyone's calls. I was in a really bad place the past ten days." 

"You don't have to apologise," Thor says. He pulls away to take in how Peter looks -- tired, in pain, but better than what he assumes he was like ten days ago. His hair is a mess. "Where did you go? When did you come back?"

"Missouri. I came here straight from the train station," Peter says, holding up Thor's phone in his spare hand. "I went to MacLaren's, saw your phone and found you out here, flagging down a cab." 

Thor takes his phone back from Peter and says, "Mantis and Tony were going to get a train to Missouri. I'm gonna call them and tell them not to."

Peter nods, "I'm sorry again. I know I worried you guys a lot. I read all the missed texts and listened to the voicemails on the train back and I'm just so sorry."

Thor shakes his head, "It's not your fault. If the it happened to me, I probably would have done the same. You're allowed to grieve. Hold on, I'm gonna call Tony and then we'll go upstairs, okay?"

"Okay. It's good to see you again, Thor."

"You too, Peter. Really," Thor says sincerely. 

> "Thor called me, and luckily enough, the train hadn't left yet so we had the time to get off and go back to NYC. While we were taking the cab back, Thor took Peter back up to our apartment to comfort him."

Thor shuts the door behind him, hanging up his coat. Peter sits down on the couch silently, looking around the apartment. 

"You got a new radio," Peter observes absently.

"Well, Tony and I wanted there to be a quality radio in the apartment for when you come back, so you could play the music you wanted to listen to when you came over," Thor says. "This apartment isn't just me and Tony's, it's everyone's." Peter wrings his hands together anxiously and Thor says, sitting down next to him, "We missed you a lot, Peter."

Peter suddenly turns to him, hugging him tightly as he starts to cry. Thor immediately rubs his back comfortingly, saying gently, "I'm here for you. Okay? We're all here for you."

"I know," Peter sobs. "I just miss my mom a lot."

"I only met her twice, but she was so lovely," Thor says. "If it helps any, it was clear to all of us that she loved you very much." As he thinks of ways to calm Peter down, he asks, "When you were sad, did your mom have a specific thing she did?" 

"We would watch Indiana Jones movies," Peter mumbles in response. 

Thor nods, standing as he goes to the DVD rack on the shelf, "I know I have some from years ago. I'll watch some with you, sounds good?"

"Sounds good," Peter says, wiping his tears off with his sleeve. Thor puts in one of the DVDs and settles onto the couch with Peter as the movie starts. 

> "I dropped Mantis off back at the shelter. I told her that it might be best to see Peter the next morning instead of immediately, just to give him time to really come back from wherever he'd gone. I passed by the police station to withdraw the missing person's report Mantis and I filed for him."

"Hey, I'm here to withdraw a report I made on the 2nd of November," Tony says to an officer. 

He nods, turning away to get the documents, "Sure. Who did you report?"

"Peter Quill," Tony answers. "Filed by Tony Stark and Mantis Empath."

"Okay, got it," the officer says, passing some documents to him. "Just fill these in for me and I can handle the rest."

"Alright, thanks," Tony says, squinting slightly to read the small print of his name-tag. "Officer Rogers."

He smiles, leaning against the wall as he waits for Tony to fill in the forms, "Please, call me Steve. So you found your friend? Where?"

"I didn't find him, my roommate did, chance encounter," Tony explains. "Found him right outside the bar we always hang out at."

Steve nods, "Well, either way, I'm glad you found him again. There's those rare times when people come in months after filing a report to withdraw it because they don't think they can be found again. I'm glad this isn't one of those times."

"Me neither," Tony agrees. "I love him too much."

Steve makes a face of realisation as he trails off, "Oh, he's your..."

"Boyfriend, yeah," Tony says. "Why?"

"Nothing, just that..." Steve says, a little sheepishly. "You look very handsome and I thought about asking you out for coffee. But now that I know you're taken, I'm obviously not going to."

Tony chuckles, filling in a final blank in the forms, "I'm flattered, Rogers." He finishes up and hands it back to Steve, saying, "Well, all done. Thanks again."

"No problem," Steve says, grabbing a post-it pad and scribbling on it before giving it to Tony. "Um, I don't mean this in a bad way or anything, but on the off chance it doesn't work out with you and Quill... Here's my number."

Tony takes it, deciding there's no harm in taking a number from someone. Not that Tony was interested, but Steve seems nice enough and he's always open to making new friends. He says, "Sure. have a good night, Steve."

"You too, Tony," Steve says. 

> "By the time I got back, it was around 10 at night."

Tony quietly locks the door, careful not to wake either man up. Thor and Peter had fallen asleep on the couch with Indiana Jones still playing on the television. Peter's head rested on Thor's shoulder. Tony walks over to get a look at them -- Peter's face had dried tears down his cheeks. It's obvious he needs the rest. Tony isn't about to ruin that. He walks to Thor's room, taking his comforter and bringing it to the living room, placing it over them gently.

> "I came home, and they had fallen asleep together on the couch watching Indiana Jones, so I just kissed Peter on his forehead, said goodnight and went to bed."

By the time Thor wakes up, Tony is having breakfast and Peter is gone. He asks, "Where'd he go?" 

"Back to see Mantis," Tony answers. "I made us coffee and sandwiches, so just take what you need."

Thor walks over to the table to look over the breakfast food and says, "Tony, about last night, I'm sorry."

Tony waves dismissively, "If you're talking about falling asleep with my boyfriend, listen. I don't mind. I'm not gonna be that crazy boyfriend that obsesses about every interaction Peter has with another person. Plus, I know he was crying. You were trying to help him. I should be thanking you instead."

"It's nothing, really," Thor replies. "He's my friend too." 

Tony smiles, finishing up his sandwich as he stands, saying, "Well, I need to get ready for work. Plus, I'm meeting Peter's boss at Knowhere to explain why he didn't show up for work for ten days on his behalf. Have a good day at work, Thor."

"You too," Thor returns.

> "I didn't find out why Thor apologised until much later. But that's for another time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments/kudos appreciated <3


	18. 5x1: New Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New beginnings for most of the group. Loki needs a singing tutor for a musical role.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a very Tony-centric chapter but it will come back to him, promise.

> "Kids, in 2003, February was a new start for a number of people. Actually, 2003 was a new start for a number of people in general, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll start in February. Peter was doing a lot better. He disappeared for one day every two weeks, but he always came back by the end of the day, and we'd accepted it."

* * *

**FEBRUARY, 2003**

* * *

"Peter couldn't be here right now to break the news, so since Tony couldn't be here either, he gave the role to me," Thor says when he and Loki walk into MacLaren's. "He got a new job, his first day is tonight. He officially quit Knowhere yesterday."

Tony wasn't there, having to go to the office for a last-minute meeting. Neither was Jessica, who was behind on a case, or Peter who had to tend to details regarding his new job. Val asks, "Oh, where is he working at now?"

"Valhalla," Thor answers. "It's this really popular nightclub. They offered him twice what Knowhere was paying him and more flexible working hours. He could choose when he wanted to start and end each day and they'll pay him by the hour."

Carol bumps shoulders with him, grinning, "That's awesome. Things are finally looking up for him."

Thor says, "I -- _We_ should go see him at Valhalla sometime." Loki shoots him a look that nobody else catches. "Valhalla told him he had to prepare his own setlist, but he said he would take our requests."

"I love privilege," Matt jokes.

"Oh, yeah, I just remembered. You quit Hogarth's, right?" Carol asks, suddenly turning to Matt. "What are you doing now?" 

Matt nods, elaborating, "Jennifer and I decided to start our own separate law firm because attorneys under Hogarth are expensive. We agreed that we didn't become lawyers to earn money, so we quit to start Murdock and Walters: Attorneys At Law. Affordable to most and free for the few that can't afford our lower prices." 

"That's really nice of you two to do that," Val praises.

"Yeah, we're excited to get our first case together," Matt says. "Anyone else have a new start?"

Carol shakes her head, "Nah, not me. Unless you count 2003 as a new start."

"It all counts," Thor grins. "I don't think I have any new starts either. But Loki has one."

"Really? What is it?" Val asks, interested.

Loki explains, "Well, after I graduated last December, I started auditioning for local plays and shows. Didn't get any call-backs for shows -- they look for more seasoned actors, because these shows go on for years with the same cast -- but I got call-backs for some plays and ultimately got casted in a musical."

"Loki! Look at you go!" Carol says excitedly. "Thor, you should be proud!"

"I am," Thor grins. "Loki is gonna make it big someday." 

Matt raises his shot glass, saying, "Well, to all new beginnings, past, present and future."

"To new beginnings," Carol laughs, and they all clink glasses before downing their drinks.

> "That night, Loki came over to our apartment." 

"Hey, Lokes," Tony greets. "I heard about your musical role. Congrats."

"Thanks," Loki says. "But also, never call me Lokes again."

Thor asks, "What are you doing here?"

Loki answers, sighing, "Though it's not the worst, my singing isn't the best either. The bosses offered to get me a singing teacher, but I got my first two hour lesson this afternoon and it was awful. He was so harsh. I know I'm on a little bit of a tight schedule, but come on. No need to be so serious." 

Tony gets an idea, suggesting while he continues typing up a document, "Hey, you know who can sing? Peter."

Thor's eyes widen and he adds, "Maybe he can give you lessons! We can go see him tonight, it's his first day at Valhalla."

Tony sighs in disappointment, "Shit. I promised I'd be there but a shareholder's acting like a complete child and I have to go back to the office in a bit."

"I'm sure he'll understand," Loki says. "We can tell him you couldn't come." 

"Thanks," Tony says. He adds mischievously, "_Lokes_."

Loki rolls his eyes, "Stop that, Stark." 

"After I went back to work, Thor and Loki went to Valhalla to see Peter." 

> "Why are you barely in this story now?" Jason interrupts. "Isn't this how _you_ met dad?"
> 
> "Yes, it _is_. I told you the last time, anything irrelevant has been taken out of the story. I know right now it's very Peter and Thor, but I _promise_ it'll all add up eventually. Bear with me, I'm getting to it. Anyway, back to what I was saying. Thor and Loki went to Valhalla." 

Peter breaks into a smile the moment he sees them walk in. Thor and Loki wave to him and he holds up a finger to say that he can talk to them after one song. Valhalla seems to be much better than Knowhere in terms of turnout. There were more people there since not only were nightclubs more popular in that area, but the people were more interested too.

Peter says into the microphone, "Here's Thirteen by Big Star." He strums the opening chords and sings, "_Won't you let me walk you home from school? Won't you let me meet you at the pool? Maybe Friday, I can get tickets for the dance and I'll take you."_

"_Won't you tell your dad get off my back? Tell him what we said 'bout Paint It Black_," Peter sings, hints of romantic tones and gentle affection in his voice. "_Rock and roll is here to stay. Come inside where it's okay. And I'll shake you._"

Loki eyes Thor suspiciously while Peter sings. He had a suspicion, but he didn't know how to get Thor to be honest with him. Whenever Loki brings it up, Thor quickly corrects himself and he loses the moment. 

"_Won't you tell me what you're thinking of? Won't you be an outlaw for my love?_" Peter sings. He looks up right at Thor as he closes off the song, "_If it's so, well, let me know. If it's no, well, I can go. I won't make you. ooh_..." 

The patrons clap as he bows dramatically, laughing in flattery. He holds up a hand to signal that he's taking five and walks over to the two brothers, taking the last empty seat at the small round table. He smiles, "Hey, thanks for coming." 

"It's no problem," Loki says. "Also, Tony had work." 

"Oh, yeah. He called me earlier to tell me," Peter replies, nodding. "It's fine. I get it." 

Thor starts, "Peter, so I don't know if you know it yet, but Loki got casted in a musical."

"Loki, that's awesome!" Peter congratulates.

"Yes, I know," Loki chuckles. "Well, I need a singing tutor and Tony and Thor had the idea to ask you. You'll be paid per lesson, of course. The musical's managers just need to know if you'll do it and they'll arrange a payment plan."

"You want me to teach you how to sing?" Peter clarifies. "I mean, I'm not _that_ good."

"You are!" Thor insists. "Come on. If we didn't think you were good, we wouldn't have asked you."

Peter thinks it over for a while before finally saying, "Okay. I need to move out of the shelter anyway, so the money would be good to earn. I'll do it." 

"Thank you," Loki smiles. "Give me a second, I'm going to call the managers and let them know." As Loki walks out of Valhalla for some quiet to call them, Thor and Peter are left alone. 

"Um, I have about --" 

"Three minutes," Thor says. "Twenty-two seconds." 

Peter grins as he asks, "_Someone's_ been watching the clock." 

Thor's cheeks turn red a little and he's grateful for the dim lighting of the nightclub. A part of him feels guilty about it because, come on, _Tony_ is dating Peter, not him. But another part of him feels guilty because Tony's the last thing on his mind right now. He says, "No, I... I just happened to look at the clock."

"There's no clock on the wall so nobody can track the time and you haven't looked at your phone," Peter points out.

"Well, _someone's_ been watching me," Thor jokes, imitating Peter from earlier. 

This time, it's Peter who glances away, smiling faintly. Loki returns and says, "They green-lighted Peter to be my teacher. They're going to prepare a schedule. Don't worry about Valhalla, the lessons will be in the afternoon. I'll call you to confirm it."

"Okay, great," Peter says. He turns to Thor and says, "Have a good night. I'll call you." He pauses, correcting, "_Loki_. I'll call Loki." 

"What do you have to call me for? I'm calling you," Loki frowns. 

"Yeah, that's what I mean," Peter says, laughing nervously. "Well, I'm going. See you guys at MacLaren's tomorrow."

Peter returns to the stage to continue on to the second half of his setlist. Loki looks at Thor and asks, "What's with him?"

"Nerves, maybe," Thor shrugs, hiding his face behind a shot glass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	19. 5x2: La Vie En Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica runs into an old acquaintance. Loki has his first singing lesson with Peter. Tony interviews new employees.

> "Kids, you remember The Day And A Half in 2000. Your aunt Jessica got arrested in that story and met someone. The world is small."

* * *

**APRIL, 2003**

* * *

"Long time, no see, Stark," Carol greets as soon as Tony pulls an empty chair next to the booth. Carol, Jessica and Matt were there. Jennifer, his law firm partner, was there too, invited by him. "I forgot if you've met her yet, but this is Jennifer."

"Oh, yeah. Matt told us a bit about you," Tony says to Jennifer. "I'm Tony."

Jennifer smiles, "Nice to meet you. Matt's told me a bit about you as well. How was it like dating this devil?" 

"Devil?" Matt repeats, chuckling. "Rude much, Jen?" 

"You know I love you," Jennifer assures.

Tony humours her question and answers, "If you must know, he used to steal most of the blanket." 

"Keywords _used to_," Matt emphasises.

Jessica squints at the bar-top and says, "Hey, that's the guy who tried to help me out when I got arrested that time. Scott, I think." Tony looks over and sees a brunet man at the bar, ordering a drink. There's a man with him, talking animatedly. 

"Go say hi," Tony says. "I wanna thank him for helping you. I know it's a long time ago, but he didn't have to." 

"I don't see why not," Jessica shrugs, deciding there's nothing to lose. She and Tony move to the bar-top and she taps Scott's shoulder, saying, "Don't know if you remember me, but hey." 

Scott's eyes widen in recognition and he smiles, "You're Jessica, right? From the convenience store! You didn't stay long in custody, I hope."

"No, Tony here bailed me out," Jessica assures. "How've you been?" 

"Oh, I just got out of prison again," he answers sheepishly. He points to his friend with his thumb and says, "I made a friend in there, though. Coincidentally, we had very close release dates. This is Luis." 

"_Wazzaaaaah_!" Luis decides to say, imitating the iconic commercial. Jessica narrows her eyes at him, frowning, while Tony laughs. 

"_This_ is the kind of company you keep?" Jessica asks flatly.

Scott laughs as well, saying, "He's usually better. I don't know what's gotten into him." 

"Also, Scott, I came over because I wanted to thank you for standing up for my friend. I mean, we both know she doesn't need help, but thanks anyway," Tony says. 

Scott smiles, "It's no problem."

Tony asks, "So, just out of jail. What were you in for?"

"Stealing," Scott says, a hint of shame in his voice. "My daughter wanted this really expensive Lego set for her birthday and I ended up missing the day itself." 

"What are you doing now? Job hunting for an ex-con can't be easy," Jessica says.

Luis replies, "We're trying to get a security business started up. We know security systems inside and outside since we're... you know. But nobody wants to hire us because we're ex-cons."

Tony offers, "Maybe you can come work for me. We have some security protocols in place but I feel like they're too basic for the advancing world. I've been looking to improve security at my workplace. If you think you're up for the job, maybe you can come to my office sometime with a couple of proposals."

Scott and Luis exchange excited looks and Scott nods enthusiastically, "Of course, yes! Is next week Friday good for you?"

Tony smiles, giving Scott his business card which had his work number and address on it. He says, "Sounds good. Just call me to confirm time and day, and the address is right there. Have a good day, Scott and Luis."

Luis grins, looking at the business card in awe, "Thank _you_, Mr Stark!"

"Least I could do. You're good people," Tony says. "Just don't steal anything again."

> "Peter's singing lessons for Loki were going to start. Because Loki wanted there to be someone else so he could properly evaluate if he was doing a good job or not, he invited Thor to the lessons so he could listen."

Thor opens the door and smiles when he realises it's Peter. He's in a plain grey long-sleeved shirt with black jeans. He greets, "Peter, hi. You look good." He resist the urge to smack himself for saying that out loud. 

Luckily for him, Peter takes it and even returns it, "Don't look so bad yourself, Odinson. Loki's home?" 

"Yes. Did you bring your guitar?" Loki asks from behind Thor. Peter walks in, holding up his guitar bag, and Loki sighs in relief, "Okay, good. I am not into the idea of using YouTube karaoke videos."

"Neither am I," Peter agrees. "Guitar's more personal." He chooses his place in the room in the chair next to the couch. Loki sits on the couch right next to Peter (to Thor's disappointment), so Thor just sits on the floor, resting his head on the coffee table.

Peter unzips the bag and pulls out his guitar, saying, "I tuned this before I came here, so just tell me a song you want to start with. I'll play and sing the first verse and then you try the second, chorus together, then we'll figure out the not-so-good parts together. Sound good?"

"Sounds great," Loki says. "I don't know what songs we could start with. Thor, any suggestions?"

"Maybe _Here Comes the Sun_?" Thor says. 

"The Beatles," Peter grins. "Good choice. Okay, Loki, you know the lyrics?"

"Yes." 

Peter nods and positions his fingers before he starts strumming, singing, "_Here comes the sun. Here comes the sun and I say 'It's all right'. Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here._" Sounds like an angel as always, Thor thinks. 

Loki tries out, a little unsure, "_Here comes the sun. Here comes the sun and I say 'It's all right'."_ He glances at Peter for approval and earns an encouraging smile from him. Loki continues with a bit more confidence, "_Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces. Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here."_

Even Thor joins along when Loki and Peter do the chorus, and all three smile as they sing together, "_Here comes the sun. Here comes the sun and I say 'It's all right'."_

Peter plays a random guitar riff to end it off and they laugh. He holds up a hand to Loki, saying, "You did good! Maybe we should move on to a more difficult song then, since you seem to have the basics down." 

After another hour of songs, advice and jokes, Loki gets up off the couch and says, "I'm going to the bathroom. Be right back." While Peter fixes the tuning of his guitar slightly, Thor sends Loki a thumbs up. 

While Loki is gone, Peter checks the tuning by playing a familiar song. Before Thor can affirm with him what song it is, Peter's gentle voice starts singing, "_Hold me close and hold me fast, this magic spell you cast, this is la vie en rose. When you kiss me, heaven sighs, and though I close my eyes, I see la vie en rose..."_

Thor has a small grin on his face as he listens to Peter's careful strumming and beautiful voice. Peter mirrors Thor's smile, eyes closing as the song pulls him in, and he continues, "_When you press me to your heart, I'm in a world apart, a world where roses bloom. And when you speak, angels sing from above. Everyday words seem to turn into love songs._" 

Loki returns from the bathroom, stopping at the doorway. He looks on silently; Thor watching in soft admiration while Peter gets lost in the song.

"_Give your heart and soul to me and life will always be la vie en rose..."_ Peter finishes the song, the guitar instrumentals getting quieter as it fades out. Peter's eyes open and he smiles again. 

> "Kids, all of us must have heard Peter's rendition of La Vie En Rose a thousand times over the years. It's one of the songs he loved to play most and we all loved it. But that performance, the first time your uncle Thor ever heard him sing that, that one will always be his favourite."

Loki sees it then. The way Thor's gaze softens at Peter, long after the song ends. He doesn't say anything, just returning to his original place on the couch and saying, "I only heard the last verse but that was great, Peter."

"Great?" Thor repeats. "That was _beautiful_."

"Thanks, Thor," Peter smiles. cheeks only the slightest bit red.

When the staring doesn't break after five seconds, Loki breaks it by saying, "Okay, can you earn your pay check by giving me my lessons, please?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Peter snaps out of it, going back to his guitar. 

> "During the lesson, I was having my proposal meeting with Scott and Luis." 

"Hey, thanks for coming in on short notice. My schedule blew up all of a sudden and this was the only slot I could fit you into," Tony apologises. 

"It's all good, Mr Stark," Luis assures.

"Tony is fine," Tony cuts in. "Mr Stark is my father."

Scott nods, hurriedly setting up the security plans up on the stand Luis carried into the office. For the next forty-five minutes, Scott and Luis explained all the security protocols and set-ups they had come up with since Tony offered them a meeting with him. Every question Tony had for them was met with a detailed answer -- even though sometimes Luis would go off-topic and start talking about his _Abuela_ or someone. 

"That's all we have," Scott says once he finishes elaborating on a special kind of door lock for more confidential conference rooms. "For now, at least." The last bit is added quickly, and Tony's sure it's because Scott's trying to make them sound like they have more to offer than they already are. 

"Sit. Give me a while to think about it," Tony says, leaning back into his seat. Luis passes him the plans so he can have an overview. Tony thinks over all their proposals, contemplating practicality and cost, calculating how renovations would affect productivity.

After ten minutes, Tony decides, "You're hired. I love it. Can you start making mock-ups of the devices you've drawn in your blueprints?"

"Of course!" Scott nods. "Thank you for hiring us. We won't let you down, Tony." 

"Let me down? You kidding? These are great," Tony says, passing the plans back to them. "Thank God Jessica ran into you in 2000. Oh, yeah. I got you something. Well, not you, exactly." He leans down to take something out from under his table -- the Lego set Scott had tried to steal for his daughter. He says, "Jessica told me which one specifically you tried to get. Think of it as a You're Hired and Thank You gift."

Scott takes the Lego set from him, smiling in awe, "Tony, thank you so much. Cassie's gonna love this."

"No problem," Tony smiles. "Anyway, I have another meeting to get to, so just go down the hall to the elevator. First storey takes you to the lobby. Thanks again." 

"Thank _you_," Luis says. He and Scott pack up their things and wave goodbye, leaving the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	20. 5x3: The Second That Would Never End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony makes a new business partner and catches a cold. Peter drops a bomb on Tony.

> "Kids, the July of 2003 is known to me and your uncle Peter as the Winter of Heartbreak. It all starts with me meeting Scott and Luis at Stark Industries' office to look over the first model for one of their security devices."

* * *

**JULY, 2003**

* * *

"Thanks for coming in," Tony says, holding the glass door open for Scott and Luis as they bring in a box of the devices they made.

"It's nothing, Tony," Scott assures, setting the box down on the floor.

Tony glances at his phone and says, "I need to wait in the lobby a little while longer but you can go up to my office first. Tell that receptionist I sent you, he'll send you up. I'll be there in ten minutes tops."

Scott and Luis nod, bringing the box over to the counter and talking to the receptionist. He leads them to the elevator and Tony turns back around, waiting. After two minutes more of waiting, two people walk into the building.

"Dr Pym, Miss van Dyne," Tony greets, shaking hands with them. "My father is going to run a little late."

"Of course he couldn't," Hank scoffs. "I'll go up to the conference room."

"I already whitelisted you for the room, so..." Tony trails off, watching Hank walk off. "Okay. Someone's excited."

"Sorry about my dad. He's still learning his manners," Hope says, before she sneezes into a tissue. 

Tony asks, concerned, "Are you feeling okay, Miss van Dyne?" 

Hope nods, smiling, "I'm fine, just a light cold. The meeting can go through. You can call me Hope. I can call you Tony?"

Tony returns the grin, "Of course. Walk with me." Hope and Tony walk side-by-side to the elevator and he says, "I've got my new security technicians in my office right now. I have a fifteen minute meeting with them before I go see you and your dad in the conference room." 

"I'll come with you," Hope says, clearing her throat. "Give my dad some alone time to collect himself before yours comes along. He hates your dad." 

"Mine hates yours," Tony chuckles. "And sure, you can come with me. You'll like them. Very nice people."

* * *

Tony walks into his office with Hope at his side, introducing, "Guys, this is Hope from Pym Technologies. Hope, these are Scott and Luis."

Scott stares at Hope like he's seen an angel and Tony tries to hold back a laugh. Luis fills in, "It's an honour to meet you. It's an honour to meet anyone, really. I --"

"Okay, Luis. It's an honour to meet you too," Hope chuckles. "And Scott."

Scott's mind goes blank as he tries to find something impressive to say. He settles on, "You're really pretty."

Hope laughs, charmed, "Thank you."

Tony looks at his watch and says, "Okay, can you two start elaborating on this device you've got? Hope's sitting in on this meeting, if you don't mind."

"Not at all!" Scott says. "Luis, hurry up with the notes." 

Tony sits next to Hope for the meeting while Scott and Luis explain how their advanced metal detector. Hope keeps stifling coughs in between exchanging comments with Tony. At the end of the presentation, Hope asks to be excused so she can go to the bathroom before the Stark-Pym meeting. When she's gone, Tony laughs, "Scott, you are so into her." 

Scott turns red, "No."

Tony holds up a finger, looking at Hope standing outside the office, "Give me a moment. I'll be right back." He walks outside and says, "You look like you want to tell me something."

Hope looks excited as she says in a hushed voice, "While I was trying to get my cold in order just now, I was thinking about the meeting with Scott and Luis, the things we were talking about. I figured that Stark Industries is in really good hands, your own. Pym Tech is rising in the ranks too. I thought Stark Industries and Pym Tech could be even better if we teamed up." 

Tony starts getting into the idea, asking, "My dad's not in control of the company anymore, but won't your dad get mad?"

Hope chuckles, "Well, yeah, but he needs a little humbling. So, you in?" 

"I'm in," Tony agrees. "Hold on, I need to let these two go before I go with you to the conference room."

When Tony comes back in, Luis asks, "Is it possible for Scott to get her number?" Scott smacks his arm and hisses at him to shut up.

"I don't think she's the kind to give her number out, but she'll be around more often so you will have plenty of chances to ask her out yourself," Tony smiles. "Anyway, thank you, you're free to go. I love the idea. If you stop by the lab, you can drop off your blueprints and my engineers can start producing them for the building."

* * *

"You should really see a doctor," Thor says when Tony coughs into a napkin. Tony, Thor, Jessica and Val were at MacLaren's. "How did you even get sick?"

"A future company partner had a bug, I guess I just happened to catch it," Tony sighs, adjusting his green jacket. Okay, maybe not _his_ since he basically just took it from Bruce's place, but whatever that 'S' on the breast stood for, it now stands for Stark, as far as Tony's concerned. 

Jessica stands, saying, "You and I are going to see a doctor. There's a clinic near here, pretty good."

Tony waves dismissively, "I'll be fine. I don't need a doctor."

> "I needed a doctor. Jessica was free and decided to come along. So we're in the clinic's waiting room. She said not a lot of people know this clinic is a thing, so there's never a long waiting time." 

"Hey, Tony," Jessica starts. "How have things been between you and Peter?" 

"It's been okay, actually," Tony answers. "When I'm busy with work, Thor helps me out in keeping him company." 

Jessica presses her lips together and says, "Maybe you should spend a little more time with him. He's not Thor's boyfriend, he's yours." 

"Yeah, he's actually coming over tonight. Thor's gonna be out during then," Tony says.

Before Jessica can try to elaborate on what she means, Tony's name is called and he walks to the office. As soon as he walks in, a man walks out from the opposite door, sitting in one of the other empty seats. He looks up, asking, "What are you down with?" 

"Nothing. I'm here with a friend who's dumb ass refused to see the doctor when he came down with a cold," Jessica answers.

"Ah," the man says. "I've got a cold too."

"Stephen Strange," the clerk calls.

The man smiles, "Well, that's me. Bye."

"Bye," Jessica says, taking out her phone to keep herself entertained until Tony comes back out.

> "That was how your aunt Jessica met your father. Turns out getting a cold wasn't the worst part of my day. That was hours later when Peter came over."

Peter comes into the apartment, looking around, "Thor's not in, right?"

Tony shakes his head, "No. Think he went to the bookstore to get some books for Asgard." Peter nods, about to say something when Tony kisses him. Caught off-guard, Peter returns it, closing the door behind him. After a few seconds, Peter suddenly breaks off the kiss.

"I'm sorry," Peter says quietly. "I can't lie to you."

Tony looks at him in concern, asking, "Lie about what? I'm sure whatever it is, it's not that bad."

"I've been thinking about this for a while now," Peter starts talking, stepping away from Tony to put some distance between them. "I didn't want to believe it, because I loved you, but it's not going away. It's just getting worse by the day." Peter bites his lower lip in hesitation, contemplating if he should get to the point. Finally, he confesses, "I'm in love with Thor. I'm sorry."

Tony's face falls and he blinks absently, trying to figure out what to say to that. What the hell was he supposed to say to his boyfriend admitting that he's in love with his best friend instead?

"Tony?"

"Um, okay..." Tony trails off, confused. "Not what I was expecting."

Peter sighs, running a hand through his hair as he tries to explain, "I'm sorry. I really tried not to feel anything about him. But I promise I have never done anything with him while I was with you. I would -- I could _never_ cheat on you, Tony. I loved you and I'm sorry I feel this way... But I can't be with you while I love someone else because it's not fair to you or to me." 

"So you're breaking up with me?" Tony asks. 

Peter exhales, looking down at the floor, "Yeah." When Tony doesn't say anything after a few minutes pass, Peter says quietly, "I'll go down to MacLaren's... I hope to see you there."

> "I didn't go down to MacLaren's after that. I spent the time thinking about how I missed everything. How I spent so much time at work that I didn't notice that my best friend was spending more time with my boyfriend than I was. Jessica had a point when she mentioned it at the clinic. I couldn't believe that yet again, my focus on work ruined another relationship. But while I was having the worst part of my day, the night wasn't over for Peter yet."

Peter goes down to MacLaren's but he stops outside the door. He takes a deep breath, trying to look like everything is fine, like he didn't just break up with Tony. When he recollects himself, he plasters on a fake smile and walks to the usual booth. 

"Hey, guys," Peter greets.

Jessica asks, "Where's Tony?"

Peter replies, "Oh, upstairs. He's sick." Jessica nods falsely. She didn't believe Peter. Not at Tony being sick, but at him staying upstairs because of that. 

Val pouts, "Aw, I heard he got a cold. Hope he gets well soon." Carol nods in agreement.

Loki glances at his phone, notifying, "Thor's coming in soon." Peter nods, looking distracted.

Matt says, "I wonder what he wanted to tell us."

Peter stands, walking to the bar-top, "I'll get us drinks." While he's at the bar-top waiting for the drinks, Thor walks in with a familiar face. Peter knows him -- the owner of the company that runs the shelter he lives at. Peter's family is closer to his sister Shuri than him. He wonders why he's with Thor.

> "Sometimes hours can feel like minutes and sometimes, a single second can last a lifetime. For Peter, the second that would never end was this one."

"I met him at the bookstore a couple hours ago and we went on a date. It went well so I decided to invite him tonight. Guys, meet T'Challa."

Peter feels like the whole bar had just frozen in place and he leans against the bar-top, sighing deeply to himself in devastation. He runs a hand over his face to compose himself and suddenly the world jumps back into action. He puts on his second plastic smile on his face and returns to the booth with the drinks.

"Hey, Peter," T'Challa greets. "You're friends with Thor? What a small world."

"Yeah. Small world," Peter admits, feeling a little sick. "I'm gonna go, I don't feel too good."

"Are you okay?" Jessica asks.

Peter nods unconvincingly, "I don't know. Maybe I got Tony's bug. Goodnight, guys."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	21. 5x4: You're Drifting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group gets Peter to come back to MacLaren's.

> "Kids, when it was July 2003, your uncle Peter and I both got our hearts broken by different people. Me, by him. Him, by Thor. Four months later and we were both still trying to get a move on with our lives. He couldn't look past T'Challa and I couldn't look past Peter."

* * *

**NOVEMBER, 2003**

* * *

"Hi, Matt," Tony greets. Val, Carol, Tony, Jessica, Thor, T'Challa and now Matt are at MacLaren's. Loki was busy with rehearsals and couldn't be there.

Matt smiles and Jessica grabs his arm so Matt knows where to sit. He squeezes into one side of the booth with Tony and Jessica. Carol and Val are sitting opposite them while Thor and T'Challa have pulled seats over to the booth. Carol says, "Hey, where is Peter, by the way? I know Loki's at rehearsal for his musical but I don't know about him. I miss seeing him around."

> "Why did Carol miss seeing him around? Because Peter started coming by MacLaren's much less frequently than he used to. When we were dating, he came by whenever I was there. Or, well, whenever Thor was there too. But ever since we broke up and Thor started dating T'Challa, Peter came by less and less. Now we were lucky if we even saw him once every two weeks." 

"Oh, I don't know," Tony shrugs. "Thor, have you seen him?" 

Thor shakes his head, "I see him when he comes to MacLaren's and you know that's not often."

T'Challa points out, "You visit the shelter sometimes. You've never seen him?"

Thor frowns, "No. Not at all."

Jessica rolls her eyes and says, "I can't take any more of this conversation. Okay, listen. I know maybe things have been awkward between you two since you broke up, but he's basically one of us now. So, either you call him and tell him it's okay to keep coming to MacLaren's or I stop coming too." 

"You wouldn't!" Val tries. "Come on."

Jessica replies, "I would. But you and Carol _will_ come with me because I refuse to leave you two with these men."

"Hey," Matt frowns before he just chuckles. "Kidding. I agree. Can I come with you?"

"There is always room for you, Matt," Jessica invites.

"Nobody's leaving," Thor insists. "Tony, just call him."

"Calling him is useless because I'm not the reason why he stopped coming," Tony replies, frustrated. 

T'Challa asks, "Why did he stop, then?"

_Because you're dating Thor_, Tony almost says, but he decides it's not his place to say anything and says, "I don't know. But he made it known it's not me."

> "While Jessica said that she would stop coming if Peter never comes back, it was kind of a lie. Remember when she fired him as his secretary and she said he could come back anytime to hang out? Well..." 

"Seriously, Peter," Jessica says, passing him a bottle of her cheap alcohol. "You can't avoid Tony forever." 

"It's not about Tony," Peter says. It's about 2 in the morning and Jessica decided to call him to keep her company while she tried to get a breakthrough on her current case. 

"I don't mind that he's there. I know our friendship started with romance but I don't really let relationships ruin my friendships. Well, unless the relationship was bad. Like Quentin from art school," Peter scoffs, opening the bottle and taking a drink. "He was _awful_. And Ayesha from my old diner job too."

"_You're drifting_," Jessica points out.

"Okay, okay. Back to Tony," Peter says. "The point is, doesn't matter that he's there. He's still one of my closest friends, ex or not."

Jessica asks, exasperated, "So why won't you come to MacLaren's?"

Peter admits, "Because it hurts to see T'Challa there." 

"Why? Don't tell me you --" Jessica cuts herself off. "Holy shit. You like Thor. Is that why you and Tony broke up?" 

"Yeah," Peter affirms. "Kind of hard to believe nobody wondered why we broke up in the first place." 

Jessica replies, "Actually, one time you and Tony weren't there, so we all tried to come up with a reason why." 

**=== AUGUST, 2003 ===**

"Tony and Peter aren't coming?" Matt asks once he arrives at MacLaren's.

Thor says, sounding a little testy, "You need to ask that? One, Peter's never here anymore. Two, Tony's always busy at work." 

Carol leans in, looking like she's about to start a conspiracy, "Hey, they never told us why they broke up. Why do you think that is?"

"I don't think it's our business," T'Challa says, drinking. "If they wanted us to know, they would tell us." 

Val laughs, "Us, minding our business? Not happening. Come on, guys. What do you think?"

Carol guesses, "Well, maybe they realised they wouldn't be as cool a couple as you and I." Val laughs again, leaning over to kiss Carol. 

Matt suggests, "Maybe one of them cheated."

"Nah, neither of them would do that," Thor says almost instantly. He clears his throat and elaborates, "I know Tony, he's not an asshole. And Peter... He just wouldn't. Trust me."

"Someone's defensive," Jessica mutters. "Well, my guess is that it just died out." 

"Died out?" T'Challa repeats. "When they were together and Tony visited, they seem pretty loving to me." 

Jessica shakes her head, "No, no. I've had this thought since the whole group met Peter at Knowhere. Tony and Peter were gonna die out either way." 

"_Jessica_!" T'Challa says, horrified. "That's terrible to say. They broke up last month."

"I know," Jessica says, lifting her bottle in celebration. "About time, if you ask me."

"You're so mean," Matt laughs.

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

"You were _happy_ we broke up?" Peter asks, bewildered. Though, he shrugs and says, "Okay, fine. We didn't work out so I guess that's warranted. But still. Come on."

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that," Jessica mutters. "But T'Challa or no T'Challa, you still have other friends at that bar who miss you. Don't tell anyone I said something that cheesy."

Peter grins, "You know I won't. And you're right. I promise I'll be back tomorrow, okay?"

> "The following night, he did show up. For the first time in months, we were both at MacLaren's at the same time." 

"Hey everyone," Peter says, coming into MacLaren's.

They all grin excitedly and Carol says, "I feel like I never see you anymore!"

"Yeah, sorry about not coming," Peter says, sitting in the booth as Carol and Val shift over to make space. Jessica, Tony and Matt sit on the opposite side and Thor is in the extra chair. "But Jess talked to me and so I'm back, baby."

Tony says, "It's good to have you back here again."

Peter returns his smile, "You too, Tony."

Tony requests, "But, just to be sure, I'm not why you stopped coming, right? Because they don't believe me."

Peter assures, "Not because of Tony so lay off him. We're fine." 

Val asks, "Are you sure it's not weird? I mean, I'm happy that you're gonna be around more often again but you're sure you and Tony are fine?"

Peter nods, "I'm fine if Tony's fine." 

"We're good," Tony affirms. "We're back to normal." 

> "It wasn't good, actually. We acted like it was, but continuing to be friends would bite us in the ass eventually. But that's a story for yet another time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	22. 6x1: Before You Lose Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony learns a lesson and something else.

> "Kids, you remember that in July of 2003, your uncle Peter and I broke up because he was in love with my best friend Thor. But then Thor got together with the guy who ran the shelter Peter lived at. It was hard, but he came back to MacLaren's and we were all in a good place again."

* * *

**FEBRUARY, 2004**

* * *

"Is Thor coming?" Tony asks once he sits in the booth. Val is there with her laptop, Matt and Jennifer are there with documents and Loki has a script full of tabs and highlights.

Loki answers, not looking up, "He said he was swinging by in a while."

Tony nods, standing again, "Okay, then I'm leaving." 

> "I may have left out one tiny detail. Over the course of August to December 2003, I started to drift away from Thor. It wasn't something I intended to do. I didn't want Peter's feelings for him to get in the way of our friendship, but it just happened. We lived together so it got pretty awkward. The conversations eventually died..." 

"Tony, sit back down," Val says. "Look, we had an intervention for you and Peter in November. I'm not up for another one for you and Thor. What is going on between you two?"

"Nothing," Tony lies. 

Loki finally puts down his script, saying, "My brother is never out of trouble. What did he do? Everyone here can keep a secret."

Jennifer mimics a zipper across her mouth and says, "My lips are sealed."

Tony shakes his head, "No, I'm not saying anything. He didn't do anything. Sometimes you just get further away from your friends. It happens." 

"Yeah, but this has been going on for months! You need to get it together," Matt says. "What will it take for you to realise that you don't have time to get mad at your friends for no reason?"

"Why's this getting all serious?" Tony asks, nervously laughing at the change of tone.

Jennifer advises, "I know I'm not very close to all of you. I only know what little that Matt tells me, but I think that life is short. If you don't have a very good reason to stop talking to him, maybe it's time you make up with Thor."

> "With that advice from Jennifer, I knew she was right. But before I went upstairs to talk to Thor, I decided to go see Jessica first."

"Come in," Jessica says, stepping aside to give him space to enter. "Watch your step."

All over the floor are stray pieces of newspaper clippings, photographs, post-its, letters and notes. Tony carefully navigates through the mess and sits at Jessica's desk while she makes her way to her original place on the couch. Tony feels a little disappointed whenever he remembers that the secretary desk had been sold since Peter's firing. 

Tony comments, "You look a little stuck."

"A little is an understatement," Jessica scoffs. "What did you come here for?"

"Do what you do best. Put me in my place," Tony says. "I don't think I even need to elaborate on what I'm talking about, Miss Private Investigator."

Jessica caps the marker in her hands and sighs, walking over to him. She sits on the desk and says, "First off, I think you're bullshit." 

"Damn, don't hold back," Tony says sarcastically. 

She rolls her eyes, continuing, "Bullshit in this whole Peter-Thor thing. You keep avoiding either of them and we're all sick of it. You two have been best friends since you met. You didn't even know each other for a year before moving in together. Your friendship is something special, Tony. Whatever this weird thing of yours is, you better resolve it before you lose something great." 

"You're right," Tony nods.

Jessica stares at him for a few moments before using her bottle to point to the door, "What are you waiting for, Christmas? Go."

> "So, I went home. But before that, something happened."

While in the cab on the way back to his apartment, Tony checks his phone. There's a text from Val and a missed call from Carol. They were likely doing their birthday shopping for Peter's upcoming birthday and wanted to ask him what to get him. He calls Val and says, "Hey. If you come to MacLaren's tonight, I can talk to you and Carol about gift ideas." 

> "The thing is, I never made it to MacLaren's."

"Thank you so much, Tony. We've been thinking for weeks and couldn't think of anything he didn't already have. And --" 

The light turns red and Tony barely grazes an idea to suggest over the phone before something enters his peripheral version. _That car ran a red light_.

_Crash_.

* * *

Val picks up the phone when Tony calls and he starts, "Hey. If you come to MacLaren's tonight, I can talk to you and Carol about gift ideas."

Val sighs in relief. Thank God for Tony Stark. She replies, "Thank you so much, Tony. We've been thinking for weeks and couldn't think of anything he didn't already have. And --" 

Before she finishes her sentence, she hears tires screeching and a loud crash before static fills the receiver. Val freezes at the sound and she whispers, "Tony? Oh my God. _Tony_." When the static doesn't go away, she hangs up and turns to Carol. She says, panicked, "Carol, something happened to Tony. We were talking but then I heard a crash and he stopped replying, I'm really scared. I don't know where he is so I can't call an ambulance for him, I --"

Carol interrupts, "Val, just breathe. If he's in the hospital, one of us will get the call soon and we'll go see him. I'm sure he'll be fine, okay?"

> "When Peter and I were dating, I was sure that I was gonna marry him, so I added him to my emergency contacts as the top one. Obviously, when that accident happened, he's the one who got the call."

Peter puts down a +3 card on the stack and laughs, "Take three, loser."

Mantis pouts, taking three cards from the pile, "This isn't fair. Stop adding cards to my deck." 

Peter's phone rings and he holds up a finger asking her to wait. He picks up, "Hello?" After a few moments, Peter hangs up and grabs his shoes, saying, "I'm sorry, Mantis. I'll pick up this game after I get back. Tony's in hospital." 

"It's okay, just go," Mantis assures. "Tell me if he's okay." Peter nods and runs out of the shelter, flagging down a cab as he calls Thor.

* * *

Thor clicks through the channels on the television, waiting for Loki to arrive. Loki told him he was coming over to his apartment to run lines through with him. When he finally settles on a semi-entertaining sitcom, his phone rings. He pauses at the caller ID being 'Peter Quill', but he picks up, "Hello?" 

"Thor, I know you and Tony aren't really speaking, but I thought you should know first. Tony was in a cab when a car crashed into it. He's in Metro-General Hospital right now. I gotta go call the others, but I had to let you know," Peter rambles. "Please come, Thor."

Peter hangs up without letting Thor say anything. Thor processes it for a moment before he begins moving, writing a note for Loki saying that he's going to Metro-General. He locks the door behind him and runs downstairs, calling a cab.

* * *

"Here to see Tony Stark," Peter says once he reaches the counter. In a matter of minutes, the others arrived one by one; Carol and Val first, Matt second, Jessica third. The clerk lets them pass and they enter Tony's ward, hoping for the best.

They all breathe out a sigh of relief when they realise Tony only has a broken arm. It wasn't his dominant hand, so he looked fine. Tony even smiles at them, "Hey, guys." 

"Hey, guys? You almost _died_, Tony!" Matt says, looking like Tony is being absurd.

Tony describes to him, "You can't see me, so I'm letting you know I'm fine. Just a broken left arm, it'll be healed in no time."

Peter moves next to the bed, saying, "Jesus, I never thought this would happen to you. I'm really happy you're okay."

Tony replies, "Hey, we're both car accident survivors now." 

Peter frowns, "Don't joke about that, asshole. I can't lose you." 

Jessica glances at her phone, glancing up at the ceiling in disappointment, and Tony says, "Thor's not coming." 

"He's coming," Peter insists. "I told him to come."

Right then, Thor runs into the room, looking sweaty. His hair stuck up a little and the panicked gaze in his eyes only settled when it falls on Tony. Thor exhales, "Tony. You're okay. Thank God." 

Though he says that, Thor doesn't make a move to get closer. The others look pointedly at Tony, especially Peter. 

> "We’re going to get older, whether we like it or not, so the only question is whether we get on with our lives or desperately cling to the past. Or, in this case, something I couldn't even do anything about. Jessica had a point. Knowing I could have come out of this with much more than just a broken arm, knowing that there was a chance I could have died had the car hit the cab slightly differently, it made not talking to my best friend feel much more wrong. I didn't have my whole life to be mad at him for no reason."

"Come here, buddy," Tony says softly. Thor breaks into a smile, happy that Tony has forgiven him, and leans down to hug Tony. 

"You know how they say your whole life flashes by your eyes when you're going to die? Did you see anything?" Val asks curiously.

Thor slaps her arm, "_Val_!"

"What? I want to know!"

Tony answers, "I didn't see my whole life... I just saw the things I love." As they all start discussing among each other about what Tony could have possibly seen; Science-related things, some theses, his bed and so on. Tony stares at Peter, who is just listening to the conversation with a smile on his face. 

Tony had seen; Watching the Star Wars movies with Thor in their apartment together. The late nights spent in Hell's Kitchen walking through a case with Jessica. Watching Matt training at that boxing ring he frequented. Listening to Carol and Val talk excitedly about funny celebrity stories. Rhodey and him playing truant that one time. His mother playing the piano. Jarvis praising him on some blueprints he did as a kid. _The time he kissed Peter when they were walking under the night sky together_. 

_Well, shit_. 

"Are we right?" Jessica asks, breaking Tony out of his daze.

"Right about what?" he asks. They all give Tony a strange look. 

"Is that all you ever loved?" Matt repeats. 

Tony glances at Peter before looking back at all of them, saying, "Yeah. All I ever loved."

"Hey, I guess I was wrong," Val says, grinning. "Thor didn't end up in hospital with Tony. I always wondered how connected you two were."

"Oh, shut up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	23. 6x2: I Wish I Wasn't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony makes a regretted move and Thor finds out what Peter did in Missouri.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW/ self-hate

> "In June of 2004, Peter moved in with your uncle Thor and I."

* * *

**JUNE, 2004**

* * *

"I have enough cash to get a place for Mantis and I," Peter announces when he and his adoptive sister Mantis come into MacLaren's. "After Loki's payments for the singing lessons, I can finally afford a place."

"That's great," T'Challa says. "Have you found a place?"

Peter replies, "Well, there's this small place in Hell's Kitchen. But it's a..."

"Bad neighbourhood," Jessica fills in. "You're not offending anyone. Matt and I are proud to be from Hell's Kitchen but we can admit it's a shitty place."

Thor offers, "You can move in with Tony and I if you want. You might have to share a room, though." Tony presses his lips together, trying not to say anything about how Peter moving in does Tony moving on no favours. 

Peter glances at T'Challa like he's looking for his permission, and T'Challa nods, "Sounds like a good idea. Then you could use the money for other things." 

Mantis pipes up, "I'm moving."

Peter blinks absently, "Why is this the first I'm hearing of it? Where?"

Mantis explains, "Nebula's moving to London and she asked me if I wanted to come along. I said yes. Plus, it'll be much easier one everyone. You especially. You need to put yourself first for once, Peter." 

> "Backstory here, I left it out because it wasn't important to my story, so I'll make it quick. Mantis had a job as a florist and right across the street was a tattoo shop owned by Nebula, who she had met when Peter used to date Nebula's adoptive sister Gamora. They had been dating for about a year and a half by then." 

"But I'll barely get to see you," Peter complains. 

Mantis laughs, hugging him, "FaceTime exists, Peter. So you move in with Thor and Tony. I'll move to London with Nebula." 

> "By the time it was July, Peter had fully moved in, Mantis was in London and my left arm was back in commission. Thor and I decided to share a room and gave Peter Thor's old one. Why? Because I was his ex, so Thor thought it would be a bad idea to let us share a room. Then I said no to Thor offering to share because it would kill any chance I had to get Peter back, so he ended up with a room alone. Anyway, I started going back to work every day instead of alternating days. When I went back, Scott and Luis were installing the new obscure security cameras in offices."

* * *

**JULY, 2004**

* * *

Hope walks into the office in Stark Industries that Tony had picked out for her ever since they teamed up their respective companies. She sees Scott and Luis inside and smiles, walking in, "Hey, boys. What are you doing?"

"Hope, hi," Scott greets nervously. "Just cecurity sameras. I mean _security cameras_."

"Scotty. Stop talking," Luis says, shaking his head in disappointment as he secures a camera to the ceiling. Hope laughs. 

She says, "Well, take your time. I can go buy you lunch, if you want. I was gonna get some later anyway."

Luis starts telling her a Subway order and she keys it into her phone, nodding along. Tony comes in right when Luis is done with his order and he says, "What's going on?" 

"I'm getting lunch. You wanna come with?" Hope asks. Tony shrugs, taking her up on it. He notices Scott shifting slightly and asks Hope to leave for a few minutes. 

"Buddy, if you like her, ask her out," Tony says flatly. "I'm not doing it for you and neither is Luis."

Luis nods in agreement and Scott says, "Fine. I'll ask her now, okay?" Scott walks out of the office to ask Hope for her number, leaving Luis and Tony alone. 

Luis asks, "Do you have anyone of yours, Tony?" 

"Not at the moment," Tony says. "He broke up with me last year but I'm still in love with him, so there's that."

"Oh, man. I'm sorry," Luis replies. "I had a cousin who was sure he was gonna marry this girl, but he --" 

Tony cuts in, "Okay, sorry, but I don't have that much time for a story-time. If you have a point, get to it, please." 

Luis says, "What I wanted to say is if you still love him and he's single, maybe you should see if he's open to trying again." 

"What if I just screw it up? We're in a good place, he's not letting the break-up affect our friendship," Tony asks. He wonders why he's asking advice from Luis. Maybe he's just that desperate. 

Luis shrugs, "Life's short." Scott waves his phone to the both of them victoriously from outside the office, a wide grin on his face. Luis laughs, "He got Hope's number." 

"Good on him," Tony says, impressed. "I wish I could go back in time and redo my relationship. Maybe if I did some stuff differently, he would still be with me." 

Luis pats his back supportively, replying, "Maybe do something to remind you two of how great you were together. Good luck, Tony." 

> "After getting advice from Luis of all people, I decided I don't have anything to lose. If it worked out, Peter would be with me again. If it didn't, I doubted he would let things change between us and our friends. So that night, Peter and Jessica came over for Star Wars Night. Star Wars Night was a random day they, Thor and I would pick out to watch a randomly chosen Star Wars movie."

"I'm gonna make popcorn," Jessica mutters, standing to walk to the kitchen. "Don't pause for me. I'll be ten minutes." 

Thor nods, standing as well, "I'm going downstairs to get some beer. I'll be back in ten."

"Get me a drink too," Peter says. Thor nods, not turning to look at him. 

> "Things have been weird between Peter and Thor since T'Challa came into the picture. They talked a lot less, only talking when they realise they haven't exchanged a word in twenty minutes. It actually took convincing on Jessica's part to get him to stay in the apartment for Star Wars Night." 

Peter fiddles with the blue lightsaber Thor brings out whenever it was Star Wars night. He figures out how to turn on the light and he grins, "I'm a Jedi."

"The best," Tony humours, watching fondly as Peter swings it around before he laughs, turning it off and putting it down.

"It's gonna take time to become the best Jedi," Peter jokes. "These movies are my homework." 

> "Kids, sometimes you're stupid because you're just in love." 

Peter gets excited when Han Solo comes onto the screen, saying, "I'm thinking I should be him again for Halloween. What do you think?"

"You should," Tony says. 

Peter grins at the comment, "You're going as Darth Vader again too, right? Maybe we could --"

Tony interrupts him by kissing him. Caught off-guard, Peter instinctively returns it and they kiss with Han Solo bragging about making the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs in the background. Before the kiss could escalate any further, Peter pulls away and Tony takes in the sight. Messy hair (his fault, his hand had wandered) and shame. 

"I'm sorry. I'm still in love with Thor," Peter says apologetically. "I know I said I didn't want our break-up to affect our friendship but maybe I shouldn't have moved in." _How do I turn this around?_

Right when Tony finally comes up with a response to that, Peter decides to leave, shutting the door behind him. Jessica comes back out with the popcorn and she frowns, "Did Peter leave early?" 

"Yeah," Tony replies flatly. 

> "And sometimes you're just stupid." 

Outside, Peter is going down the staircase when he almost runs into Thor carrying four bottles of beer. Peter slows down and helps steady the bottles, apologising. Thor asks, "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah. I'll pay you for the drink, sorry," Peter says, taking out his wallet. Thor takes his hand, stopping him. 

"It's on me," Thor says, giving him one of the bottles. The two of them sit down on the staircase and he asks, "Why are you leaving? We've been waiting for Star Wars Night for weeks." 

Peter sighs as he explains, "Tony kissed me. I wouldn't normally care, just put him down as gently as I can and move on, but I'm worried that me sticking around is giving him the wrong idea."

"I can talk to him for you," Thor offers. "Tell him you don't want to be with him anymore."

Peter instantly shakes his head, "No. I think hearing it from someone else is worse." Hearing it from _you_, specifically. "I need to get somewhere, anyway. I forgot about it but I gotta go. I'll see you at MacLaren's or at home. Goodnight, Thor."

"Goodnight, Peter," Thor returns, watching Peter go down the flight of stairs and out of sight.

In the apartment, Jessica says, taking a bite of popcorn, "Okay, real talk. Tony, I get it. You love him, but I know he loves Thor. In the kindest way possible, you gotta move on, Stark. I see the way you look at him and you are not going to get over Peter as long as you don't want to. Do you have anyone to call?" 

"There's this cop I met when I went to take back Peter's missing person report," Tony says, frowning in thought. 

Jessica's frown wasn't in thought but in mild judgement, but she says, "Call him. You're not gonna move on unless you make yourself move on. I'm..." She sighs, saying a little flatly, "I'm here for you. Don't tell anyone I got soft for a moment." Tony smiles a little in amusement. Even when trying to comfort him, Jessica still refuses to get soft. Tony's waiting for the day she does.

"Fine," Tony mutters, shooting Steve a text before he stows the phone away when Thor comes back. 

> "The next day, none of us had seen Peter, until he came back to the apartment the next night."

"Holy shit. Peter, where were you?" Thor asks when he sees Peter come back into the apartment. "You were gone the whole day. No note, not phone call. You didn't show up to work. We were all worried about you."

"Look, Thor, it's nothing," Peter says, sniffing as he tries to hide his face from him.

Thor frowns, walking closer, "You're crying. Where were you?" 

Peter sighs, deciding that there's no point in lying, and answers, "If you have to know, I was in Missouri. For therapy."

> "Remember how I said Peter would never tell us what he did in Missouri after his mother died? Well, he was getting himself signed up for therapy. Not just to cope with his mother's death, but with everything else that had happened in his life. I remember telling you he would disappear for a day or so every two weeks. He was in Missouri talking to a therapist. This was the one time he told anyone about it."

Thor's mouth falls open slightly. Though he knew how much his mother meant to him, he didn't know how big an impact it had on him that he went all the way to Missouri for therapy even two years after it happened. Though, with Peter's less-than-favourable history, Thor can't say this was completely unexpected. He says, "I didn't know it's been that hard on you, even after all this time. I hope you know we're all here for you."

"Are you?" Peter asks.

Thor raises an eyebrow at the genuine question and replies, "Of course we are, we're your friends."

"So you're saying if I were to tell you I wish I was dead, you would stay? Tony said he was glad I was alive when we found each other again but holy shit, I wish I wasn't," Peter says, tears beginning to run down his cheeks.

"Peter..."

"Every day I get up and for what?" Peter cries. "For life to shit on me? It's not that easy to just... _be_ someone when I feel so _empty_ all the time!"

Thor places a hand on Peter's back, guiding him to the couch, "Peter, come on. Sit down. We'll talk this out, okay? You're just tired..."

"Yeah, I'm tired, God damn it!" Peter snaps. "Tired of my life! My whole life has been nothing but pain, it's not getting anywhere and I'm all _alone_ \--"

Thor pulls him into a tight hug, saying, "You are many things, Peter. But you're not alone."

As Thor holds him, Peter sobs, "Why do I hate myself so much?

Thor says softly, hand running comfortingly down his back, "If you could see yourself the way I do, you wouldn't." Thor presses a kiss to his forehead, just holding his body close to his as he rocks them gently, "I wish you loved yourself as much as I do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	24. 6x3: How I Met Everyone Else

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor hires Peter at Asgard and Tony introduces the group to Steve. They reminisce about how they all first met one another.

> "In July, Thor found out what Peter did in Missouri; He'd signed himself up for therapy and went every two weeks. Thor is kind in nature, so even though he and Peter's friendship was kinda on the rocks at the time, he still wanted to look out for him."

* * *

**AUGUST, 2004**

* * *

"I'm thinking of asking Peter to work at Asgard," Thor says. He, Matt, Carol, Loki and Jessica were at MacLaren's. T'Challa and Tony were busy with their respective companies, Val had a meeting with one of her clients and Peter was working his shift at Valhalla.

"Why? His job at Valhalla's paying him well," Matt points out.

Thor tries, "I just want to keep an eye on him. Now that I have an idea on how bad his mental state is, I just want to help him not worsen."

"What do you mean?" Carol asks. 

Thor says in a hushed voice, making it clear that he doesn't want Peter to know that the others know, "He got himself therapy in Missouri. I'm glad he's getting help, he's had a hard life, but I want to at least make life easier for him. Asgard's closer to the apartment than Valhalla is." 

"Well, maybe suggest the Asgard job to him, then," Loki says. "See what he thinks."

> "That night, Thor caught Peter when he came home after his Valhalla shift ended. I was still at work then."

"Peter, I wanted to ask you something," Thor says once Peter drops his keys on the coffee table.

"Make it quick, I'm just about ready to sleep," Peter replies, resting his guitar against the fireplace. 

Thor lays it out, "I'd really like to hire you at Asgard as a singer. I know I probably won't be able to pay as much as Valhalla does since nightclubs generally earn more money than cafés, but you can choose hours past just the evening. Mornings, afternoons, night, any time you want. $20 an hour?"

Peter frowns, "Where's this coming from?" 

Thor answers, "I just... I would like to have you around more."

Peter gives him a flat look, "If this is about my mental state, I don't need a babysitter. I'm fine staying at Valhalla."

"I'm not trying to be a babysitter for you," Thor clarifies. "I just think we'll both feel a little better if you worked at Asgard. I mean, your friends will be working with you. And frankly, when you disappeared for over a week, it was one of the worst moments of my life. I'm not excited about feeling like that again..." 

"I'm sorry I never called when I was in Missouri," Peter says. "I've said it so many times since I came back. Everyone else has taken my apology and moved on. Why haven't _you_?"

_Because I can't stand the idea of losing you._

"Because you didn't just leave everyone in the dark. You left me too," Thor says instead. He regrets how the words sound once they leave his lips and he explains himself, "I know it's selfish to say that. I know you had the worst week out of all of us, and you ghosting us is ten times better than what happened to you, but damn it, Peter. I hated not having you around. Nothing felt right. I just wanted you to come home." 

Peter presses his lips together as he thinks of something to say. He settles for, "I'm sorry I left you behind, Thor. Okay? Not talking to you guys sucked too. I wanted to call you, call Tony, Jessica, anyone, so many times. I didn't because, well, I thought it would be easier for everyone for me to not call if I decided to never come back again."

Thor is surprised at Peter's frankness with why he didn't call anyone, but he says, "And you came back anyway." 

"Exactly. I came home," Peter says. "So can we drop it?"

"I can't!" Thor replies. "Because I..."

"Because you what?" Peter asks.

_Because I love you._

Thor abandons the thought and asks instead, "Can I please help you?" Peter stares at him before he just sighs, not answering as he goes to his room, shutting the door. 

> "The next day, me, Thor, Val and T'Challa were at MacLaren's when Peter walked in."

Peter stops at the booth and drops a paper on the table, in front of Thor. Thor stares at it in confusion and asks, "What is this?"

Peter answers, "Valhalla doesn't need a two-week notice, so I referred them to this girl I knew who could replace me and I quit. This is my schedule. I'm showing up for work at Asgard at 8 tonight, but I am not wearing a uniform." With that, Peter leaves MacLaren's. Tony notes that he pointedly avoids looking at T'Challa.

T'Challa says, "He seems cold. What happened?" 

"Nothing you need to worry about," Thor replies, unfolding the schedule and reading it.

"Are you sure? He seems angry," Val says, unsure about Thor being so nonchalant about it. She hasn't admitted it out loud, but it unsettled her about how different Thor and Peter acted with each other ever since T'Challa came into the picture. T'Challa was nice, but she wanted her friends back. Their dynamic was also throwing everyone else off because they had all been used to their soft nature with each other.

Tony assures, "When Peter's like that, it's usually because he's tired. When we were dating, he got a little snappy if I accidentally woke him up while getting ready for work at 7 in the morning." Thor doesn't miss Tony casually reminding them that he dated Peter. Though, he also doesn't miss the fact that it was _casual_. Tony is anything but casual. If he wants to make a point, he'll make it. 

Val nods, still unconvinced that it's nothing. T'Challa says, "Maybe we should go to Asgard tonight, let Peter know he didn't make a mistake quitting Valhalla." 

"I think only the original five should go tonight," Tony cuts in. "No offence, T'Challa. I just think he'll be happier seeing people he's more familiar with."

"Oh, no. I understand," T'Challa says, nodding. Tony was just looking out for Peter. He's not going to ruin Peter's first night at Asgard by inviting the guy who's dating the man he's in love with.

> "We went to see Peter at Asgard that night. Since Loki and Carol already work at Asgard, basically all of us were there except T'Challa. Did I feel like an asshole for purposely leaving him out? Yeah, but it was worth it to see Peter happy especially after I screwed up at Star Wars Night the previous week. But throughout his shift, even when they weren't exactly the closest of us, I saw how Peter looked at Thor with every love song he sang with his guitar. And I saw the way Thor smiled at him. By that time, I was dating Steve, after Jessica convinced me to call him. I dated him for a while until I decided to introduce him to the others in September."

* * *

**SEPTEMBER, 2004**

* * *

"This is Steve, my boyfriend. We've been dating for a couple months now, but couldn't find the time to properly introduce you guys. But finally, here he is," Tony says. Everyone smiles politely and greets him as Tony lists, "This is Peter, Thor, Matt, Val and Jessica. Val is dating Carol and Thor's dating T'Challa, but neither could be here tonight."

"Hello, everyone," Steve greets, taking two extra chairs for him and Tony. Matt, Val and Jessica agreed ahead of time to make Peter and Thor sit together, so they were on the same side of the booth. Jessica notices that there's barely any space between them. Steve says, "I've heard a lot about you all and I was excited to meet you."

Val asks, "Speaking of meeting, how did you meet Tony?"

Steve answers, "Kind of a weird way to meet, but he came into the station to retract Peter's missing person's case and I gave him my number... Sorry, Peter." 

"Don't worry about it," Peter says. "It's in the past." 

"How did you all meet each other?" Steve asks. "I'm curious." 

Val looks at Jessica and says, "Our story is a little bit funny. I was getting drunk for the first time and Jessica was in the same bar."

**=== MAY, 1996 ===**

"No!" Val laughs, tipsy from the countless shots she'd had. It was her birthday and she was brought out by her closest friends to the bar to celebrate. "I don't even know if I s'ill rememb'r the w'rds..." 

"It'll be funny!" Sera says. "I have never seen you drunk before."

Angela grins, sipping her drink, "If it goes wrong, we'll get you out of there. Promise."

Val gets up to her feet, relenting, "Fine, fine. I'll do it." She stumbles over to the dark-haired woman wearing a leather jacket talking to a blonde woman in front of the karaoke station. Sera and Angela had dared her to sing Africa by Toto. It was less about how iconic the song was and more about an inside joke about it that spanned five years. 

The two women move away to let Val get to the machine. She inputs the song and watches the lyrics come up on the screen and tries her best to read it properly through her drunken gaze. She can't see the lyrics properly with how tipsy she was, and Angela and Sera laugh at how wrong some of the lines are. She sings, very badly, "_I'm here with the dumb echoing tonight but she hears own Lee whiskers of sum queer constellation_..." 

"She's _so_ off," the blonde woman laughs, watching Val not-nail the song. 

The dark-haired woman replies, "She's drunk, Trish. Go easy on her."

"_I stopped at Old Man's a long way, hopin' to find some ol' frog Gotham worlds or ancient Merediths_," Val sings off-key. Angela and Sera lose their minds at the absurd lyrics.

The woman shakes her head, correcting, "Never mind. Don't go easy on her."

"Come on, I wanna join her," Trish laughs, trying to pull her companion with her. "It'll be fun. You never give yourself a chance to let loose, Jess." 

"I don't need to let loose," Jessica mutters. "If you want to join her, go ahead. I'll stay right here, with my dignity." 

"_I bless the reindeer in afro car_!" Val slurs. 

"_Gonna take some time to do the things we never had_!" Trish sings, joining Val on stage. Val laughs and puts her arm around Trish, singing together with her. Jessica had to admit, it is kind of funny that Trish is singing every word perfectly, in key, and the drunk woman was just losing it.

Angela and Sera walk over to Jessica's side and Sera asks, "Is that your girlfriend?" 

Jessica recoils, clarifying, "Hell no. She's my sister."

"Oh, sorry about that," Sera quickly apologises. "She's fun."

When the song ends, the two women join them, laughing. Trish says, "God, that was so fun! I'm Trish."

"Your sister told us," Angela replies. "I am Angela. This is my girlfriend Sera and this drunken mess is Val. What about you?" 

"Jessica," she answers.

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

"Aw, that's fun," Steve grins. "What about you and Tony?" 

"Tony and I met at a library," Jessica says.

**=== APRIL, 1997 ===**

Tony goes through a book about quantum physics and after about fifteen pages, he decided to borrow that book. He continues reading the book as he slowly makes his way to the last available computer station. He wanted to look up a few more books before he left with just the one in his hand. Just as his hand touches the mouse, someone else's hand touches the keyboard. He looks up from his book and sees a dark-haired woman in a leather jacket. 

She says, "Back off, asshole. I was here first." 

"Uh, no. _I_ was," Tony says. They narrow their eyes at each other before they try to sit down first. They end up sitting with one leg each on the chair.

The woman sighs and says, "This is kind of embarrassing."

"Agreed," Tony replies, standing up just as she does. "Look, whoever needs it more can use it. What do you need it for?" 

She answers, showing her NYPD badge, "I'm a detective. I'm investigating a case." Her badge shows her name as: JONES, JESSICA.

Tony raises his hands in surrender, saying, "Okay, Detective Jones. You can have it." 

Jessica stares at him for a few moments before saying, "If you can wrap it up in five minutes or less, you can go first. I'll wait."

Tony smiles, promising, "I'll be quick." He sits down, fingers flying across the keyboard as he finds more books to borrow. He introduces, "I'm Tony, by the way."

"I didn't ask," she says. 

"Frank. I like it," Tony smiles, not looking away from the computer screen. "But I've got a feeling that we'll be seeing each other a lot more, so you should remember my name anyway."

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

Jessica raises an eyebrow, "We did see each other a lot more, huh?" 

Tony laughs before adding on, "And then Thor and I met not that long after, in August."

**=== AUGUST, 1997 ===**

Thor sighs as he hangs up the phone, pulling the hood of his grey jacket over his head. It just had to rain, didn't it? His mother had called to tell him that Loki gotten into a fight at his high school and because her boss won't let her leave work early, Thor had to get him from school. Thor had been on a walk so he didn't bring his car. And now he's caught in the rain with no umbrella, with no cab in sight. 

He walks a few blocks in the rain until a car slows down next to him. The driver rolls the window down and calls out, "Hey, buddy! You need a lift?" Thor lifts a hand to his face to shield his eyes so he can see the driver clearly, trying to evaluate if he should trust the driver. The driver moves his face closer to the window and says, "I'm Tony. If you tell me where you're heading, I can drive you. It's raining, man."

"LaGuardia High," Thor answers. Tony glances at his phone before nodding, unlocking the car door.

"Get in, but please sit on the newspapers in the back. I don't want my seats wet," Tony says.

Thor nods, laying out the newspapers before getting in. He shuts the door and says, "Thank you. I'm Thor, by the way."

"Good to meet you. You like Led Zepp?" Tony asks, putting on Immigrant Song. 

Thor grins excitedly, "They're my favourite. You're already my best friend in the city."

Tony laughs, turning left, "Well, if you leave me your number when I drop you off, maybe we can explore that best friend thing."

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

"I can't believe we _did_ become best friends," Tony grins.

Thor laughs, "Looking back on that story now, I feel like I am an idiot for giving a complete stranger my number."

"Don't say that like you don't give out your number to hook-ups," Jessica says. "Raise your hand if you have given a complete stranger your number."

Tony, Peter, Thor, Jessica, Val and Matt all raise up their hands. Tony turns to Steve and says, "Don't lie. You gave me your number."

"That's true," Steve admits. "I was thinking in more of the hook-up sense, though."

"You've never had a one-night stand?" Peter asks, appalled. 

"Is that so bad?" Steve asks, amused. 

Peter shakes his head, "Of course not. Some people like having a connection, nothing wrong with that. I just find it funny since all of us have done it. I had one just last week." 

"Up top," Jessica says nonchalantly, holding up a hand. Peter laughs and high-fives her while Thor changes the subject instantly. 

"Oh, me and Val, we met in 1998," Thor says. "I was at a nightclub with my brother and someone was harassing Val." 

**=== JANUARY, 1998 ===**

Thor orders a round of shots and laughs in Loki's face, moving the glasses to his side of the table. Loki pleads, "Let me have just _one_. Mom won't know what we don't tell her."

"Don't push your luck, brother. It's enough that I even brought you along after Mom said no bars for you until you're officially out of school," Thor replies, downing two shots one after another. Loki rolls his eyes and leans into his seat, frowning when he looks across the bar-top.

Loki points out, "He looks like an asshole." Thor follows his gaze to a man chatting up a woman who looks uninterested. She seemed to be doing a good job at keeping him at bay until Thor notices him slip something into her drink while she's not looking. 

Thor walks over to them and says to the man, "Hey, maybe you should leave." 

The man stares him down before saying rudely, "Why don't you mind your business, buddy? Me and the lady are trying to have a conversation."

Thor takes the woman's drink and splashes it in the man's face, replying, "Looks like you're trying to have a drink." The man curses under his breath but decides that he'll be no match for Thor if he started a bar fight -- Thor could take him, _easily_ \-- and walks away, wiping his face dry with his sleeve. Thor turns back to the woman and explains, "I saw him slip something into your drink. I'm sorry, I'll pay for another one."

The woman smiles, saying, "Don't worry about the drink. Thanks for doing that for me. I'm Val." 

"Thor," Thor introduces, returning her grin. "Do you want to sit with me and my brother? I've got some shots if you're interested. My brother isn't allowed to drink any."

"Sure," Val replies. "I'll pay for our next round."

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

"That's so nice of you," Peter says, grinning as he nudges Thor with his shoulder. Thor smiles and Val doesn't miss the red tint in his cheeks. "How did Matt meet Tony?" 

"I met Matt right there," Tony answers, pointing at the bar-top. "I asked him out and he said yes, but then he ditched me." 

Matt grins, reaching out to shove Tony, "Not on purpose, dick. I told you I had tests at school. I gave you that date on New Year's Day, didn't I?"

"What about Peter?" Steve asks, changing the subject. 

Thor says, "We all met him the same way, but Jessica and Tony have different stories." 

Jessica says, "It was at a basement concert for Heroes for Hire in 1998." 

**=== DECEMBER, 1998 ===**

"Hi, thanks for coming," the band's publicist, Colleen Wing, says, tapping Jessica on her shoulder. "If you enjoy the band, you can find them on YouTube, Heroes for Hire, and on Twitter at heroeshire." She gives her a free T-shirt that was clearly two sizes too big for her but Jessica accepts it.

A man in a red jacket leans onto her table, eyes still on the stage, and Jessica says, "Hey, you mind moving, jackass?" 

The man turns around and sheepishly apologises, "Sorry. I'll just move here." He shifts to the other side of the table, next to Jessica. 

She rolls her eyes, "Look, you're not not-hot, but I'm not looking for anything tonight."

The man stares at her before his eyes widen, realising what she means, and he says, "Oh. No, no. I have a boyfriend. It's just that this is a good spot to see the stage."

Jessica shrugs, accepting it, "Okay, fine. You can stay."

Peter smiles as Luke Cage sings the chorus for one of their songs, _Cottonmouth_, and he says, "I'm not that into current music. Most of it is getting too techno or meaningless, but these guys have gotta be an exception. Great instrumentals, lyrics that actually make you feel... I love it."

Jessica nods, "That's true. They're really good." She mentally notes his review to echo back to Val the next time she sees her. They talk about music until the set ends -- the man has fantastic taste in music -- but before she asks him for a name, he looks at his phone.

"Sorry, Quentin wants to see me," Peter says. He realises she doesn't know who Quentin is and explains, "My boyfriend." 

"Is he nice?" Jessica asks.

Peter gives her an unreadable look and says, "Eh. He's not the best but, gonna be honest, the sex is pretty awesome."

Jessica laughs, "I feel that. Maybe we'll cross paths again."

"Yeah, maybe," Peter smiles. "Have a good night."

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

"... And then we did see each other again, in 2001," Jessica says. 

"That's awesome. How did Peter meet Tony?" Steve asks.

Peter answers, "I was working my job at Knowhere back in 1999." 

Tony adds, "He played John Denver and I bought him cake and a mug of hot chocolate."

Peter nods, saying, "We didn't see each other for a while after that, but then I met him again outside MacLaren's." 

> "And just like that, it all came back. John Denver. Hot chocolate and red velvet cake. His favourite constellation, Andromeda. Rewind by Goldspot. 2:43AM at MacLaren's. Every kiss we ever shared. Star Wars Night. Peter Quill." 

"How very destiny-like of you two," Steve jokes.

Peter laughs, leaning into his seat. Thor puts an arm around him, and it was clear they'd finally gone back to normal. Tony goes straight to downing his shot.

> "And then everything felt wrong, Steve more than anything. But I ignored it and it was one of the worst decisions of my life. But I'm getting ahead of myself."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	25. 6x4: Nothing Good Ever Happens After 2AM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony makes two of the dumbest decisions of his life.

> "Kids, my mother gave me this really useful rule, and I had upheld it for the better half of my life; If it's after 2AM, just go to sleep. When your uncle Thor and I moved in together, I told him the rule and we lived by it. If we ever found ourselves still out by the time the clock strikes 2 in the morning, we would go home straight and just go to sleep. I always lived by it. Until the October of 2004, when I made the dumbest decision of my life."

* * *

**OCTOBER, 2004**

* * *

"Hey, Thor. How's it been with T'Challa?" Tony asks over dinner. Thor had made the three of them spaghetti.

Thor replies, "Okay."

"Okay?" Peter repeats, intrigued by the short answer.

"It's okay," Thor says. "Nothing new, nothing changed. It's okay." Peter and Tony look unconvinced but don't press on. Thor asks, a question he didn't think through entirely before blurting it out, "Have _you_ been dating anyone?" 

Peter shrugs, "Right now, it's just hook-ups." Tony tries to shove down the small part of him that still feels jealous. _You're with Steve right now, for God's sake. Get a grip_.

"Anyone stand out?" Tony asks. _You are a fucking idiot, _why_ would you ask that?_

Peter gives him a weird look, "Not really... Otherwise I would have brought them to MacLaren's by now." 

"You don't want to explore anything?" Thor questions. 

Peter gives him a longing look, but Tony's half-sure Thor didn't even catch that, and says, "I mean, I tried, but they're just not who I want."

"Who _do_ you want?" Thor asks.

Peter answers, breaking eye contact with Thor, "An angel."

Tony says, "Angels don't exist."

"I found one, though," Peter says simply. When he doesn't elaborate, Thor and Tony decide to drop it.

> "After dinner, the three of us watched a romcom together. Halfway through, Peter got tired and went back to his room, leaving me and Thor alone." 

"Who do you think that angel is?" Thor asks. It's then Tony realises Thor has no idea Peter loves him, even now. 

"I don't know," Tony lies. "Who do _you_ think it is?" 

Thor shrugs, "I thought it was you... But the more I think about it, the more I don't think so. Maybe it's one of his exes." 

"If it was someone in our group, who do you think it is?" Tony asks.

> "None of us has ever let him live this guess down." 

Thor looks at him, stumped, "I don't know. Jessica?"

"_Jessica_?" Tony repeats, bewildered.

"I mean, they're pretty close! It's not a bad guess," Thor says. _Oh my God, he's really clueless. The most amazing man in the galaxy loves you and you don't even realise it. _

"Maybe," Tony mutters half-heartedly. He had half a mind to just tell him Peter loves him but decides against it. He turns off the television, saying, "It's 11 and we have work tomorrow morning. Let's go to bed." 

"Sure," Thor says, getting off the couch and going to their shared room. 

> "Almost four hours later, someone knocked on the door. Thor and Peter weren't woken up by it but I was, so I got the door." 

Tony looks through the peephole, blinking tiredly as he realises it's Steve. Tony opens the door, glancing at the clock as he rubs the sleep from his eyes, saying, "Steve? It's like... 2 in the morning." 

Steve asks, glancing around, "I know it's late, but will you let me in?" 

Tony steps aside to let him in, saying, "Sure. Be quiet though, Peter and Thor are asleep. Anything wrong?" When he closes the door and turns around, his mouth falls open to the sight of Steve down on one knee, velvet box open with a diamond ring blinking under the dim living room light. 

"And I know _this_ is _early_, we've only been dating seven months, but will you marry me?" Steve asks, a small smile on his face. 

> "Kids, I cannot stress this enough. Nothing good ever happens after 2AM. When 2AM rolls around, _just go to sleep_." 

"Yes," Tony answers.

**=== NEXT MORNING ===**

"I'm getting married," Tony announces. The moment the news sinks in, the arguments begin, voices overlapping one another.

"Tony, what the _hell_ are you doing?" Val hisses.

"You're insane! You've been dating him for _seven months_!" Carol points out.

Tony holds up both his hands to get everyone to cool down and he says, "I'm not getting any younger. I'm gonna be 30 in two years." 

"30 is not a bad age to get hitched. Hell, let's throw 40 and even _50_ into that," Matt says. "Tony, think about this. _Really_ think about this. This is barely seven months. Is this really a good decision?" 

"Sure," Tony says. 

> "It was not."

"I'm not gonna regret this," he says.

> "I did."

"It's gonna be just fine," Tony assures.

> "No it's not, dumbass." 

Carol says, "You can’t just skip ahead to where you think your life should be. You can't get married just because you think that's what you should be doing at 28." 

Tony replies, "I'm doing this because I want to." 

Carol gives him a 'I don't buy that' look and says, "I've known you for years. Longer than anyone at that table. I know we didn't talk as often while I was in the USAF, but this is not you. The Tony I know isn't _this_ impulsive. When did he ask you?"

"Last night," Tony replies. Everyone groans.

Thor frowns, "I didn't see him last night."

"It was almost 3," Tony answers hesitantly.

Thor throws his hands up in exasperation, "What about what your mom said? Nothing good --" 

"Nothing good ever happens after 2AM, I know," Tony cuts in. "This is gonna be good. Trust me." 

> "Nobody should trust you with making a life decision ever again, you dumbass."

Tony asks, "So, final thoughts?"

Thor puts a casual arm around Peter and says, "I just think you're going to regret it."

Peter sends him an apologetic half-smile, "I have the same thought, but this is your relationship, not mine. So I'll withhold judgement."

Jessica instantly says, "Huge mistake." 

Carol mutters, "You already know what I think." Val nods in agreement. 

Matt says, "Obviously, I'm against this decision. I think your impulsiveness is getting the better of you." 

Tony nods, "Okay, so unanimous support from my best friends in the world. Thanks." 

Thor sighs, pulling Tony down to sit with them at the booth. He explains, "It's not that we don't support you. If you want to marry Steve, hey, that's your life, your choice. We'll be happy for you when the day comes. We just want what's best for you and honestly, I don't think any of us have ever known about people who got married this early into a relationship that actually worked out. Anyone think of anything? Mine married early and now I have a deadbeat father." 

"My parents never got married," Peter says. "I've got nothing." 

"With the exception of Peter, I think all of ours married after years of being together," Carol says. "Sorry, Tony. It's six against one."

Peter looks at the clock and says, "Sorry, it's time for work. We gotta go. We'll talk more after we come home, okay?" Thor nods at Peter's statement of talking more later before he stands along with him as Carol and Val follow. They wave goodbye before leaving MacLaren's.

Jessica sighs, saying, "I've got a case to work on. I'll see you tomorrow." She leaves as well.

"Tony, can I give you advice?" Matt asks once they're alone.

"Sure," Tony replies. "What?"

He says, "Don't get married because Peter's in love with someone else. It's a mistake."

Tony raises his eyebrows in surprise, "You know about that?" 

Matt smiles sadly, saying, "I think we all do. Except Thor and T'Challa but it's obvious to the rest of us. I'm happy that you're trying to move on but I'm telling you, getting married this early into a relationship is going to be a mistake." Matt pauses to consolidate his thoughts and continues, "I know we were all rallying against your decision earlier but I hope you know that deep down, we're happy you feel this secure to say yes to a seven month relationship. The point is that I don't know if _you_ know if you said yes because you love Steve or if you said yes because you still love Peter."

Tony thinks over Matt's words, trying to make sense of his own feelings, and Matt says, "Okay, now that I've gotten over the initial surprise, I admit, I and the others may be wrong for being way too quick to shoot you down about this. I'm going to apologise on all our behalves, it just feels like you dropped a bomb on us." 

Tony asks, "But it shouldn't have to feel like a bomb, right?" 

Matt shrugs, "I don't know. Only you can answer that." 

Tony presses his lips together in consideration before he says, "I'm going through with this."

> "You idiot. I wish I could go back in time and slap you."

Matt nods, finishing off his drink, "Then I'm happy for you. For real this time. The others will come round after they have the time to process that you're getting married. When's the wedding?" 

"Not sure yet. Maybe next year," Tony says.

Matt smiles, asking, "Who's gonna be your best man? Thor?"

"I'm gonna ask Rhodey, actually," Tony corrects.

"I meant to ask, you, Peter and Thor have a weird vibe going on. The way you sound around each other," Matt says. "It's not Thor's fault Peter loves him." 

"I know it isn't," Tony says quietly. "I just wish things were... different." 

Matt says empathetically, "I understand. If you ever need to talk, I'm here. I've gotta go, I'm late to meet Foggy." 

"Who the hell has a name like Foggy?" Tony asks. Matt laughs.

"It's actually Franklin. Foggy's just a weird nickname Jen and I came up with," Matt explains. "He's the new paralegal we wanted to hire for Murdock and Walters. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sure thing," Tony says, watching Matt take his cane and leave MacLaren's. 

> "Steve's single mom is a very enthusiastic woman, so I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise when, at the end of the month, she came to the bar to drop another bomb on my friends." 

Sarah Rogers comes in with Steve. Steve introduces, "This is my mom." Everyone greets her warmly. Peter and Thor move out of the booth to let Tony, Steve and Sarah sit.

"I've been so excited to meet Steven's new friends," Sarah gushes. "I've heard a lot about Anthony, here. I can't wait to see you and my son get married." 

Steve holds Tony's hand from across the table and he says, "Neither can I, Mom." Tony returns his smile. 

Sarah continues, sliding an envelope to the two of them, "Which is why I've paid for the wedding. I hope you're both available on the 28th of November." 

> "See? A bomb, right?"

Steve and Tony both freeze, not expecting that. They thought the wedding would be maybe June next year, but suddenly it's next month? Tony can see the glass in Jessica's hands practically begging not to be crushed. Peter and Thor look at each other silently, just as Carol and Val are, Tony can tell they're having some of the group's famous psychic conversations. Matt pauses in his drink. He says, trying to get a grip on the situation. "Thanks for that, Mrs Rogers, but don't you think next month is a little fast?"

"Nonsense," Sarah giggles. "The sooner you get the ceremony over with, the sooner you get to spend your lives together."

"Mom..." Steve has a one-on-one conversation with Sarah and the group all turn to look at Tony.

> "And then we all had a big psychic conversation. As the years passed, we all got close enough to each other that we could converse almost telepathically. It's really funny. We still do these sometimes. Even Matt could and he didn't have to see our expressions."

Val raises an eyebrow, eyes widening; _What the hell is that, Tony? The wedding's next month?_

Jessica looks at him seriously before she narrows her eyes, cocking her head; _We were just warming up to the idea of you marrying Steve so soon but next month? Are you really doing this?_

Tony glances up at the ceiling, frowning, before he raises both eyebrows; _I agree that it's earlier than we thought but if it's happening, might as well go with it, right?_

Matt drinks his shot and puts it down on the table loudly, pressing his lips together; _Tony... Next month and next year are completely different things..._

Tony scrunches up his face; _What do you want me to do, man? Ask her to take it back? She already paid for the whole thing._

Thor exhales, taking Peter's phone from out of his hand; _Well, we should clear our schedules for November 28._

Peter takes his phone back and rolls his eyes; _Who plans and pays for a wedding that isn't even theirs?_

Tony does an awkward half-smile; _My fiancé's mom, apparently._

"Don't you agree, Tony?" Steve asks, cutting their conversation short. 

Carol downs her shot slowly; _Thank God your fiancé can't do these conversations with us yet._

Tony asks, "Sorry, agree with what?" 

Sarah says, "He's asking if you agree that life is short and that you should just go with November 28." Everyone looks at Tony. Except for Matt, who just raps his fingers on the table in anticipation of Tony's final decision. 

> "Kids, I could have said I didn't agree and convinced her to push the wedding to next year instead of next month. I could have agreed with my friends' very good point about how next month is not the same as next year. But that year, I was probably at my dumbest. I let my heart make my choices for me. Jealousy and longing and just pure loneliness made me give my answer."

"I agree," Tony says. "Let's get married, Rogers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated


	26. 6x5: Nervous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wedding of sorts.

> "Kids, in October of 2004, my fiancé Steve's mom bought us an entire wedding because she was excited for her son's engagement, which meant the wedding had been pushed from sometime in 2005 to November in 2004. Because she paid for it, it was entirely planned so we just had to send invites, settle seating, choose best men and get our suits. Steve had asked his friend Natasha and then Thor. I asked Rhodey and Carol."

* * *

**NOVEMBER, 2004**

* * *

"Invites," Tony says, sighing. Invites and seating are probably the things he looked forward to the least. Having to decide who is close enough to be invited and then having to arrange everyone so nobody is stuck with someone they hate... So troublesome. Tony grabs a few and starts writing, "Well, I'm obviously inviting the others."

Steve asks, "By the others, you specifically mean?"

Tony lists off, writing Peter's name on one of the invite cards, "Peter, Thor, Matt, Jessica, Val and Carol."

Steve says hesitantly, "You want to invite Matt?"

His question is greeted with a confused frown from Tony, "Of course. He's one of my best friends."

Steve relents, nodding, "Fine."

Tony writes the names out. _Thor Odinson_, _Peter Quill_, _Jessica Jones_, _Brunnhilde Valkyrie_, _Carol Danvers_, _Matt Murdock_. He'd told them ahead of time that they were allowed a plus one. Thor, surprisingly enough, opted not to bring anyone along, as did Val. Peter said he will be bringing Mantis. Carol wanted to invite Nick Fury, an old friend of hers. Jessica said she'd like to bring her sister Trish Walker. Tony is sure Matt would invite his new boyfriend Foggy.

After he finishes writing the other guests -- his mother, Rhodey, Jarvis, Hope, Scott and some other friends -- he puts them in a stack and says to Steve, "I'm heading off to work now. After you finish yours, can you mail them?"

"Sure," Steve says. Once Tony leaves the apartment, he sits at the table and goes through Tony's invitees. When he sees Peter and Matt's, he contemplates what to do. They were Tony's ex-boyfriends... Though, Steve is almost completely certain that Peter was in love with Thor. He saw the way he looked at him. Steve returns Peter's invite to the stack and stares at Matt's name. After a minute of thinking it through, he dumps the invite in the trash and starts writing out his own invites. 

He ends up calling over Natasha Romanoff, his closest friend, to help him out with picking people to invite. After choosing some friends from the NYPD, she suggests, "Why don't you invite Peggy?"

"She won't come," Steve says half-heartedly. "We haven't spoken in a long time."

"But you guys were good friends," Natasha says, taking the pen and writing 'Peggy Carter' in neat handwriting. "If she's your friend, she'll come." 

"If you say so," Steve relents, letting Natasha add the invite to his stack. Once he was done, he ties up all the invites together and goes with Natasha to mail them.

* * *

Tony asks, looking through last minute details, "Hey, did you cancel the Winter Soldiers for our wedding band?" Tony is in his apartment alone with Steve. Thor and Peter were supposedly at Asgard. 

"Yeah," Steve answers. 

"Why? They're great and they offered to do the show for free," Tony says. 

Steve explains, slightly awkwardly, "I dated one of them and it did not end well." 

"Who?"

"Bucky," Steve answers. "It was when we were teenagers and both still lived in Brooklyn. After we broke up, he moved to NYC to pursue music. When I moved here, I didn't find him... When we ended it, he made it clear he didn't want to see me again."

"I mean, it's been years. Are you sure there's no way they can do our wedding?" Tony asks.

"Trust me, it's for the best," Steve says.

"Fine," Tony replies. "Then I'll just ask Peter to make a wedding playlist or something. It's too late to hire a different band or a DJ."

**=== NOVEMBER 28 ===**

"Where's Tony?" Rhodey asks. Tony laughs in delight, running over half-dressed to hug Rhodey.

"Holy shit, I missed you," Tony grins, embracing his best friend. Val comes up behind Rhodey. "We have got to catch up after this wedding's over with." 

Rhodey nods, smiling, "You got that right. Where's Thor and Quill?"

"Here," Thor says, walking over to hug Rhodey as well. "Great seeing you again."

"You too," Rhodey returns. He looks at Peter and says, "And it's nice to meet you." 

"It's an _honour_ to meet you," Peter says.

"Kiss ass," Val teases.

Peter nudges her, laughing, before he notifies, "So Jessica, Trish, Carol and Fury are going directly to the venue. I'm picking up Mantis and apparently Thor's coming along, so we're going there ourselves too. Matt texted to say he never got his invite."

"What?" Tony frowns. "I remember writing one. I'll go invite him now."

"Hey, you need to get to the venue," Thor points out. 

Tony waves at him, "I'll be there on time, Matt isn't too far away. I'm gonna personally invite him and then we can go together. You and Peter go ahead first."

"See you there," Peter smiles, waving goodbye as he and Thor leave the apartment to pick up Mantis.

Tony and Val make their way over to Matt's place. Tony wonders why he never got the invite -- he was more than sure that he had written Matt's name out. He remembered putting his invite in with the others'. When Matt answers the door after Tony knocks on it, Val says, "It's Val, Tony and Rhodey. You didn't get your invite?" 

"No," Matt frowns. "I thought it was an ex thing. You know, some people don't like having their exes at their weddings. But when I heard Peter got an invite, I felt odd asking where mine was so I just never brought it up."

"You should have," Tony says. "You're one of my best friends, of course I would invite you. Go get dressed and call Nelson. You're coming with us to the wedding."

Matt nods, "Foggy can't come, last minute stuff, but I'll come with you. Give me ten minutes tops. I'll get dressed."

* * *

"Take Tony to his room, we'll handle everything else," Carol says to Rhodey once they reach the inn. Though they're not staying very long, the group rented two rooms to pose as dressing rooms for the grooms. Rhodey nods and leaves with Tony, leaving the rest to organise themselves. 

"I'm glad you're here," Peter says to Matt. "Did you invite get lost in the mail?"

"Must have," Matt replies. "Well, I'll go check myself in with the guest list."

"I'll come with you," Jessica says from behind him. "Trish and I just got here."

Trish, Jessica and Matt walk over to the table with the guest list laid out and try to find their names. While Trish marks herself out of the list, Steve walks by and calls, "Matt, can I speak to you?" 

Jessica says to him, "I'll check you in, go ahead." Matt nods and follows the sound of Steve's footsteps, his own cane clacking against the tiled floor. Steve walks like a military man -- sure, steady. Disciplined. Long strides.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Matt asks.

"I would prefer if you left," Steve says once they're alone.

Matt frowns, tilting his head slightly as he realises, "You threw my invite out... Why?"

Steve admits frankly, "Because having Tony's ex at our wedding is kind of weird."

Matt points out, "But _Peter's_ here and you haven't asked him to go." Peter had been one of the first to get an official invite but Matt was only invited just three hours ago _verbally_ by Tony. It didn't make sense at all to Matt; Not only was Peter also Tony's ex, he dated him for longer and their relationship was more real than his and Tony's. Plus, Tony was more in love with Peter than he was with him. Everyone in their friend group knew that, their relationship never being that serious is literally the reason why Matt could easily remain good friends with Tony after their break-up. 

"Yeah, Peter's here, but the thing is this; He's obviously in love with _Thor_, not Tony. Even if you can't see the way he looks at him... Come on, just the way he _talks_ about him is enough proof that he's never looking back for Tony. But you? I can never tell with you. I never know what's on your mind. Nothing personal against you, but I would feel a lot better if you left."

Matt processes the fact that he's being asked to leave his friend's wedding. He's sure Steve didn't even tell Tony or anyone else that he was going to ask him to go. He had half a mind to argue, fight for his right to witness one of his best friends get married. But on the off chance that he could potentially ruin said best friend's wedding, Matt relents.

"Fine," he says. "I'll go."

> "And so your uncle Matt turned around and made his way back to the train station, where he bought a ticket for the New York train leaving in an hour's time." 

When Steve comes back, Jessica frowns, "Where's Matt?" 

"Something came up at the office, he had to go back," Steve lies. Jessica stares at him suspiciously but doesn't press on. 

Trish comments disappointedly, "Damn. I wish Matt would stick around longer."

"Is Tony here?" Steve asks.

Trish smiles, pointing upstairs as she answers, "In his room with Rhodey getting dressed." Steve nods, mouthing thanks before he walks away. He bumps into Thor, Peter and Mantis not long after. 

"Hey, there's the man of the hour," Thor grins. "Nervous?" 

"Of course," Steve says, smiling. "Thor, can you help me check if Maria is here yet?"

"Sure," Thor says. "Come on, let's go." Peter and Mantis leave with Thor, leaving Steve to walk around the wedding venue. It's still being set up.

Natasha joins him at his side and asks, "Are you excited?"

"I am," Steve answers. "I can't wait to marry Tony."

Natasha gives him a supportive smile, saying, "The setting up looks great but I bet it's going to look absolutely beautiful when it's done in the evening." 

"It will," Steve agrees. "By the way, have you seen Maria?"

"She's coming in the evening, got caught up at work," Natasha says. "Do you think Peggy will come?" 

"I don't know," he replies. "I doubt it."

> "About forty-five minutes later, Natasha had some news for Steve."

"Steve, you should get to the lobby, where the guest list is," Natasha says. "Come on." Steve follows Natasha, wondering just what it is she wants to show him.

> "Your uncle Matt was _livid_ when we told him this years later."

"Hi, I'm here for the wedding. Steve Rogers invited me." 

Steve walks out to the lobby and freezes when he sees a familiar red hat and brown hair. He doesn't believe who it is until she takes the hat off. It's Peggy Carter, the woman Steve fell in love with during his first year with the NYPD. 

> "In asking my ex to leave, Steve invited his own." 

"Peggy," Steve calls, on the verge of speechlessness. "You came."

Peggy turns to him and smiles, "Hi, Steve."

Steve helps her check herself off the guest list and walks with her through the unfinished wedding set-up. He asks, "How have you been?"

"Oh, London has been moderately boring," Peggy answers. "My area is just particularly clean, so we don't get many cases. I mean, it's a good thing there's not that much crime, but it also means I'm barely working. I'm not doing what I wanted to do."

"Maybe you should go back to the Brooklyn precinct," Steve suggests. 

"I've made a life in London already... An apartment, friends, co-workers, I'm not just dropping it all for what seems like a more exciting life," Peggy says. "I'm fine with how it is. How's your work?"

Steve replies, "It's your definition of exciting. We get cases quite often since it's, well... It's _New York_. Everyone's always up to something." Peggy laughs and she sounds like angels. Steve continues, "But sometimes, I just wish I could go back to the way things were before. You know?"

"I know," Peggy says. She cups his face in her hands and confesses, "Steve, I still love you. I wish I never had to leave the precinct, wish I had the guts to go back and see you..." 

"I love you too," Steve says. 

Peggy smiles sadly, "But it's too late now. We're at your wedding..." 

Steve shakes his head gently, placing a hand on hers, "We don't have to be."

* * *

"Peter, Carol, Rhodey, please, I need your help," Thor says when the three of them walk into the room.

"Thor, calm down. What's wrong?" Carol asks, holding his hands in her attempt to ground him. Thor looks terrible -- stressed and bordering on terrified.

Thor explains, "The wedding's in forty-five minutes and I can't find Steve. He was here earlier on but he didn't tell me where he went and now I can't find him. I tried to find his other best man, Natasha, but I don't know where she is either. I don't want to ruin Tony's wedding. He's my best friend, I need to make sure this goes right --"

"Thor. Slow down," Peter says gently, replacing Carol in comforting Thor as she steps aside. "Just slow down and we'll go look for him, okay? If you say you saw him earlier, then maybe he went to get a drink or a snack. Come on, we'll look around. But I need you to stay together, yeah?"

"Yeah," Thor says, taking a deep breath. He unconsciously links his hand with Peter's, but nobody says a word about it, least of all Peter and Thor themselves, who didn't even know they were holding hands.

Fifteen minutes in, Carol tells Rhodey to go tend to Tony as his best man and he promised he won't let Tony know about Steve being missing. Thor, Carol and Peter continue looking for Steve. After thirty minutes of an unsuccessful search, they meet up at the inn lobby and Carol suggests, "Maybe he went to that town nearby." 

"We don't have time for a visit to town," Peter says, checking the clock. "Call whoever, ask if they've seen him. I'll call Jessica, Carol calls Val. Thor, you get Matt." The three of them take out their phones and call each respective person.

"Val hasn't seen him," Carol reports. Peter echoes her result. "Thor, has Matt come across him?"

Thor holds up a finger as the line connects and he says, "Matt, hey, it's Thor. Do you know where's Steve?"

"He's with me," Matt says into the phone, the couple in front of him laughing.

Thor sighs in relief and Peter and Carol smile -- Steve is found. Thor says, "Great, I'll come find you guys. Are you in town? The inn?"

Matt frowns, listening to the couple in the row in front of him talk about how 'you are still as funny as you were when I left, Steve', and says, "No, Thor. You don't understand. I'm on a train back to New York."

Thor freezes up, not hearing Matt call, "Hello? Thor, are you there?" 

"What? What's wrong?" Carol asks, the smiles falling off her and Peter's faces. "He can't be that far, right?" 

"Steve is on a train back to New York," Thor says absently. "He's leaving Tony at the altar."

"Oh my God," Carol exhales, sitting down on a nearby chair. "Oh my God. _Oh my God_. What do we do? Do we have time to get him back here?"

"The next New York train's not gonna be here in time for the wedding," Peter says, frustrated.

Thor cuts in, "Guys. I don't think he's coming back... We need to call this off. Peter, Carol, you let the others and the early guests know. I'll tell Rhodey."

> "And so Peter, Carol, Jessica and Val told the guests to go home, and called latecomers to tell them not to bother coming. Rhodey was telling me some funny stories he had about his friends in the army to calm my nerves until he got a text from Thor."

"Hey, buddy," Rhodey says, letting out a breath. _Nervousness_. "This is going to be hard to hear, but he's not coming." 

Tony frowns in confusion, "I don't get it. Who's not coming? I mean, I know Matt didn't get an official invite, but I did tell him he could come --" 

"Steve," Rhodey says quietly. "Steve isn't coming to the wedding."

"What do you mean?" Tony asks, dumbfounded.

Rhodey explains, "Thor texted me that Matt's on a train back to New York after Steve asked him to leave, but Peter just checked the guest list and found Steve's ex, Peggy, on there. Matt told Thor that he heard them in front of him on the train. Steve's on his way back to New York right now. I'm sorry, Tones."

"I got left at the altar," Tony realises absently. Someone gently knocks on the door and people file in -- Thor, Peter, Jessica, Carol and Val. Carol sits on Tony's empty side and hugs him silently and Rhodey keeps a hand on Tony's, staring at the carpeted floor. Peter, Thor, Jessica and Val simply stand quietly, feeling sorry for Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	27. 6x6: Never Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony tries to come back from getting left at the altar.

> "Kids, in November, I got left at the altar by Steve, who had run away with his ex. It wounded my self-esteem pretty bad."

"I'm getting worried about Tony," Peter says when they're all assembled at MacLaren's, except for Tony who was still upstairs in the apartment. It has officially been a full seven days since the wedding gone wrong. 

"I know," Carol replies moodily. "I wish I knew how to make him feel better." 

Rhodey says, "I've been trying to get him to talk about it but he won't let up. He keeps saying he's just fine." Rhodey had requested to extend his leave from the army so he could support Tony.

Jessica takes a sip of her drink, saying, "If he wants to tell us, he'll tell us." An actual drink, not alcohol. Though Tony did drink every once in a while, he had a tendency to drink more than he should if he was upset. The others always made sure to never let him drink too much. Now that he'd been dealt such a huge blow, even Jessica had resigned to not drinking alcohol if Tony might be around. 

Tony comes into MacLaren's dressed in a shirt that Thor's 60% sure has been eaten by a moth and pants that dragged on the floor. They all look horrified at his messy look as he slides into the booth next to Thor. Peter leans forward to look at him from next to Thor and asks, "Hey, man. You okay?" 

"Awesome. Never been better, actually," Tony says. He raises his hand and a waitress comes over.

He's about to order alcohol when Matt cuts in, "He'll have whatever Jessica is having."

"Come on," Tony whines. "Just one."

"_No_," Val says sternly. "Tony, you just got left at the altar. Take it easy on yourself. Take some time off work. Rest."

Tony rolls his eyes, "I don't need to rest. I'm fine."

Thor stands up, holding Tony by his shoulders as he says, "We're going back upstairs. Come on." Peter follows the two out of MacLaren's and the walk back upstairs to the apartment is mostly silent. When they're alone in the apartment, Thor says, "Okay. Whatever you say in this room stays in this room. How are you feeling, really?"

Tony replies, "I said I'm fine. Leave it. I'm going to sleep." He slams the door to his and Thor's shared room and Peter and Thor share a concerned look.

* * *

"If I see that asshole's face, I'm going to punch it through a wall," Peter vows as he and Thor walk into the back room of Asgard, where Carol and Loki were getting ready to go out for their night-time shifts. Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis, two other employees, waved hello and goodbye to the two of them as they left, having completed their afternoon shifts.

"Steve?" Loki checks. At Peter's affirmation, he scoffs, "Count me in."

Thor says, "Violence is never the answer."

"You can't say he doesn't deserve it, though," Carol replies, tying her apron around her waist. "How was Tony?" 

Peter sighs, picking up the microphone stand, "Not good, he refuses to talk out his feelings. Rhodey's going back to the army in a couple of days so Thor can move back into Tony's room once he's gone, keep an eye on him. We need to help Tony get over Steve." 

"Anything we can do, just tell us," Carol says. "Is he gonna be at MacLaren's tomorrow?"

"He's here tonight," Thor says. "He's sitting out there with Matt. Matt insisted they both come. I think he wanted to apologise for leaving the wedding, I don't know." 

"Alright. I'll make him his favourite drink," Carol nods. "Put on a good show, Peter." 

Peter smiles, putting the guitar strap over his body, "As always. See you out there." Carol and Loki leave to go to the counter so they can start serving customers and Thor pulls Peter back by his hand before he can follow them out. Peter looks down at their connected hands and asks, "Do you need anything?"

Thor seems at a loss for words, like he'd forgotten what he wanted to say. He eventually comes up with, "Could you play a song for me?" 

"Of course. What song?" Peter asks. "It's gotta be something I know, I don't really have the time to learn a new one right now." 

"Let Your Heart Hold Fast," Thor answers with the first song that came to mind. "Fort Atlantic."

"Okay," Peter grins. "I'll play it." With that, Peter leaves the back room and Thor goes out to the counter. Peter takes his place on the small stage set-up and says into the microphone, "Hey, I'm Peter and the first song tonight's for the "master of the house", Thor. Let Your Heart Hold Fast by Fort Atlantic." 

> "Before that happened, I was sitting at a table with Matt, who insisted we both take the night off and come relax at Asgard."

"Tony, about the wedding day," Matt starts. "I know it was a while ago, but I never talked to you about it and it's been eating at me. Steve asked me to leave and I did, but I shouldn't have. I'm sorry I did."

"It's fine. I get it. If the roles were reversed, I might have left too," Tony says. "I mean, a groom asking you to leave? I would go. It's all good. Forgotten."

Matt presses his lips together, interlacing his fingers, "I know if I ask you how you're feeling, you'll just dodge the question, so I'll ask something else. If you saw Steve, what would you do?" 

> "What would I do? It was a good question. I didn't know what I would do if I ran into the man who left me at the altar. I tried to think of an answer, tried to imagine how it would go down. Would I hit him? Scream? Cry? Walk away? I couldn't come up with a determined answer."

Peter starts strumming his guitar and sings, "_All my days are spent, all my cards are dealt. Oh, the desolation grows. Every inch revealed as my heart is pierced. Oh, my soul is now exposed_."

Matt says, deciding that he's not getting an answer from Tony, "He sounds good tonight." 

"He does," Tony agrees, listening to the music. 

"_All my desperate calls echo off the walls. Back and forth, then back again_," Peter sings, soft smile on his face. Tony watches quietly, Matt's question pushed to the back of his mind by the sight of Peter under a single spotlight, fingers dancing across the frets. Thor leans against the counter, a small grin on his face as he takes in the performance.

"_To believe I walk alone is a lie that I've been told_," Peter sings. "_So let your heart hold fast for this soon shall pass, like the high tide takes the sand._"

Matt exhales lightly, takes a sip from the hot chocolate he ordered. The air next to him is still, Tony hasn't moved since Peter started singing. He asks, "You're not over him, are you?" It comes out sounding more like a statement than a question. 

"_At the bitter end, salt and liquid blend from the corner of my eye. All the miles wrecked every broken step. Always searching, always blind_," Peter sings happily. He does enjoy music. Tony can see every chord and lyric of every song he plays shoot ecstasy through his veins. "_Never fear! No, never fear._ _Never fear! No, never fear. So let your heart hold fast for this soon shall pass. There's another hill ahead_." 

"No," Tony admits, almost like a whisper. "No, I'm not."

"Thank you, Asgard," Peter laughs, playfully bowing on his tall stool. "Again, that's Let Your Heart Hold Fast by Fort Atlantic, for Thor."

_Thor_.

Of course.

* * *

Rhodey walks out of the bedroom. Since Tony didn't want Rhodey to stay at a hotel, Thor roomed with Peter while Rhodey stayed in Tony's room with him for as long as he was in New York. Rhodey got woken up by a cabinet banging and went to the kitchen to see what happened. 

"_Shit_," Tony mutters under his breath, picking up a fallen box from the floor. He sets it back on the counter and tries to work on opening the drinks cabinet.

"Tony?" Rhodey calls. 

"They locked the drinks up," Tony complains, letting his arm drop back to his side. 

"It's not their fault. I made them give me the key," Rhodey says. "Sit down." He leads Tony to the couch and they both sit. Rhodey says gently, "Tony, I've been your best friend for years. You know you can tell me anything."

Tony finally lets it all out, "I'm just so tired, Rhodey. I got hit by a car, I got rejected by Peter, I got left at the damn altar. I don't know how much more I can take. That one with Rogers, that hit _hard_. I never thought I would be that guy. That guy who has his fiancé run away on his wedding day. I can't... You don't come back from that sort of thing. That's going to stick with me forever."

"Listen, Tones..." Rhodey says, putting an arm around Tony to pull him close. "I'm not going to pretend like I know how you feel. It sucks, what Rogers did. But I can tell you this; We all love you and we're here for you. I know we can't fix what happened to you, but we can try to make what's ahead a little more bearable. Me, Carol, Thor, Peter, Val, Matt, Jessica, we're all here."

"And I'm lucky you are," Tony sniffs, looking at the floor. "I don't know why you're still my friends... But I'm happy you are."

"We're your friends because you're an incredible guy," Rhodey answers honestly. "I couldn't resist becoming your friend in M.I.T.. How could I? You were this kid who had an insatiable curiosity for things adults didn't know kids your age knew about. It was fun to watch you debunk false facts in class. You've always been there for me and I hope you know I plan to always return that favour."

Tony hugs him tightly, mumbling, "Thank you, Rhodes. I guess I've just been feeling kind of unlovable."

"Why?" 

Tony tries to decide if he wants to tell him or not. He decides there's no harm in it and asks, "Why won't Peter love me back?" 

Rhodey blinks, saying, "In one of the letters you wrote to me, you said you were over him."

"I lied," Tony mutters into his hands. "But he loved someone else, that's why we broke up. The whole thing with Rogers just got me thinking how much better my life was when Peter loved me."

Rhodey pulls him to his side, saying, "Tony, you don't need Peter to love you romantically to be happy... I know it might feel that way, but no matter what, you can take comfort in the fact that he still loves you. He loves you enough to make sure you didn't slip up on drinking during this hard time. He loves you enough that he didn't want to lead you on. He loves you enough to attend your wedding despite thinking it was too soon." Tony nods slowly, taking in his words. Rhodey says, "I love you, Tony. So does he, and the rest of them. Never forget that. Now come on, let's get you to bed, yeah?"

"Yeah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3
> 
> (also i'm more than certain it's obvious that peter is tony's robin sherbatsky)


	28. 6x7: Happy Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group plans a Christmas for Tony.

> "Kids, in the winter of 2004, I got left at the altar and my friends were determined to help me get over it. My best friend had already left by then, so it was just the main few of us for Christmas week. Their plan was to give me the best Christmas day of my life."

* * *

**DECEMBER, 2004**

* * *

"Do you have the decorations?" 

"Yeah," Peter nods, patting the two cardboard boxes as he walks past them to the kitchen. 

He and Thor had secretly ordered a whole bunch of Christmas decorations a week ago with the intention of giving Tony a Winter Wonderland right in his apartment. Tony was off at work and all the Asgard staff had the day off so they could help set up the decorations. Because it was definitely not a one-day job, Matt offered up his apartment for Tony to stay in in the meantime, under the excuse of him going through a break-up and needing support. Which, while true (Foggy had broken up with him a week before and quit his and Jennifer's firm), was mostly just to make sure Thor and Peter had the uninterrupted time to set up the apartment for Tony's Christmas. 

"Good," Thor says. He glances up at the ceiling in thought, listing off out loud, "Carol and Val are coming over with a tree later. Jessica's helping me get a Santa outfit. Matt will be keeping Tony busy... Are we missing anything else?" 

Peter comes back out of the kitchen with a smile on his face, "The cookies you made are gonna be out of the oven in a while and Matt ordered a log cake for us all, which should be coming in tomorrow." 

"Great," Thor cheers. He takes out a mass of Christmas lights and sits down on the floor, working on uncoiling it. Peter sits down next to him and takes out some of the ornaments.

He looks at a red one he took out, a photo of Tony with his first engine on it. He grins, asking, "You had these customised?" 

Thor nods, replying, "It was our first Christmas together and we thought it would be nice if we got some custom decorations. Did you get anything like that?" 

"No, couldn't afford Christmas," Peter answers. Though his tone was nonchalant, Thor knew better. "We would just sit on the roof of our house and watch the snow, listen to my mom's music." 

"That's sweet," Thor comments, successfully uncoiling the lights. He takes out a blank ornament and uncaps the permanent marker, scribbling on it. 

Peter asks, "What are you writing?" 

Thor turns the finished ornament to Peter; The red ornament now had a stick man in a jacket with the words 'STAR-LORD' next to him. He says, "I know it's not your first Christmas with us but we never got an ornament for you, so this will have to do until I get an actual one made."

Peter accepts the ornament and smiles, "I like it. Thanks, man." 

"Peter, I..." 

Peter's phone ringing interrupts Thor's sentence. He sighs, waving to let Peter know it can wait. Peter gives him an apologetic look and walks into his room, shutting the door behind him. The call is from Rhodey. He picks up, saying, "Hey, Rhodey. What's up?" 

"I need to talk to you. Are you busy?" 

"Not really. Thor and I are figuring out decorations for the Winter Wonderland thing. I can talk," Peter assures, sitting down on the bed. "What is it?" 

Rhodey takes a deep breath and says, "You need to move out."

Peter blinks blankly before repeating, "Move out?"

"I trust that you have Tony's best interests at heart, so I'm also going to trust that you won't let him know I told you all this," Rhodey says from the other end of the call. "Tony's still in love with you. I know he said he was over it, but he's not. And I'm not stupid, I can see you love Thor. You're not doing yourself or him any favours, staying at the apartment." He pauses for a moment before he continues, "Please don't think I'm being forceful or hostile. My intentions are purely to look out for Tony. He's my best friend and you know he's hurting. You've seen him hurt first-hand."

Peter exhales like a bomb had been dropped on him. He hadn't realised Tony still had feelings for him. Like Rhodey, he'd believed they were no longer there, that Tony had moved on.

"You're right. It's unfair to all of us. I guess I just never thought of it like that before. But the more I think about it, the more I agree," Peter admits. "I'll... I'll look into finding a new place to stay."

"I have my old apartment down in Manhattan, if you want it," Rhodey offers. 

Peter declines, "No, no. Keep it. I think I might try to find a truly new place. I'm not moving until at least next year. But thanks for telling me."

"Thanks for listening. Happy early Christmas."

"Happy Christmas."

Peter hangs up and looks around his room. Though somewhat sparse, it's still messy. Worn clothes strewn all over. Stacks of cassettes and CDs. A few posters of bands he liked on the wall with the corners peeling off. His jacket hung up on the hook behind the door. The knowledge that he was never truly alone with Tony and Thor in the room right across his. Waking up to Pancake Tuesdays.

He's going to miss this.

* * *

"We have the tree!" Carol announces, opening the door. Jessica is carrying it from the other end and Val has the front. Carol holds the door open as they bring the tree in, putting it down in the empty space between the two bedroom doors. Peter smiles falsely, the conversation with Rhodey from a few hours ago still spinning in his head. Had he really been making Tony feel worse all this time?

"Awesome," Peter says half-heartedly. Thor comes out of the kitchen, icing on his nose. He was in the midst of decorating the cookies. He looks happy to see the tree.

"It looks great," Thor compliments. "Can you help me hang the ornaments and tinsel? I'm kind of busy."

Val nods, going through the box and pulling out a long string of silver tinsel, "Sure."

Jessica dumps a bigger bag on the couch, saying, "Here's your Santa get-up."

"I owe you one!" Thor calls from the kitchen. 

Peter decides to join him there, asking, "Anything I can help with?" 

"No, I'm almost done," Thor says. "Thanks for offering." 

For a moment, Peter briefly considered telling Thor about what Rhodey asked him to do, but he settles for, "You've got icing on your nose." Thor tries to wipe it off but somehow kept missing. Peter laughs, shaking his head as he leans forward to use his thumb, getting the pink icing off Thor's nose onto his finger. A memory from 1999 flashes in his mind, of the night he met Tony. How he got cake on his face and Peter cleared it off for him and how they almost kissed.

He has to move out.

* * *

"Hey," Tony greets as Matt opens the door. "I'm sorry about Foggy. He seemed nice."

"Yeah, well, it happens," Matt shrugs. "It's too bad he quit the firm too. He was a really good paralegal to have around. But he's on to better things, I guess. He's working for my old boss, Jeri Hogarth."

Tony nods, impressed, "She's a good lawyer, right?"

"Oh, the best in New York," Matt affirms. "Foggy will be fine in her hands."

Tony sits down on the couch, turning on the radio and letting the Top 50 hits fill Matt's apartment. Because Matt was blind, he didn't bother getting a television, but he at least had a radio which was good enough. He says, "Jessica made a new friend recently. I think you would like him." 

"What's his name?" 

"Frank Castle," Tony replies. "I met him briefly when I visited her place. He's kind of serious, but I think you'd like him."

"Maybe I'll ask Jessica to introduce us one day," Matt says. "But, more importantly... how are you feeling?" 

Tony frowns, "I should be asking you that. Your boyfriend just broke up with you." 

Matt says, "Take my mind off of it. Tell me about you."

"Fine. I'm feeling a little better actually," Tony says. It's true. Though getting left at the altar stung hard, Tony realised a few weeks later that he was never in love with Steve in the first place, so it did help with alleviating the ache in his chest. Realising he was still in love with Peter made it a little easier to try to move past the wedding fiasco. Though he was sure Peter still didn't feel the same way, at least it was something to help him forget what went down in November.

"That's good," Matt replies. "Are you excited for Christmas?"

"Yeah," Tony nods, staring out the window at the snow. "I'm just looking forward to this year finally ending."

"Amen," Matt smiles. "Maybe 2005 will be much nicer to us."

"It better be," Tony says, tone jokingly threatening. "This year was just full of shit." 

> "The next day, on Christmas, Matt and I went to my apartment in the evening. He said the others were skipping out on MacLaren's, so we went upstairs."

Matt stands aside and lets Tony unlock the apartment door. Although Matt (like Jessica, Carol, Val and Peter) had been given a spare key to their apartment (the same way they all had spare keys to each other's homes), he was rarely the one to unlock the door.

He opens the door and hears cheers of "Merry Christmas!" and he takes in the sight. 

A faux snowman dressed up to vaguely resemble Freddie Mercury. Fake snow all over the ground. A plate of cookies in the shape of Star Wars characters on the coffee table along with a huge log cake. A Christmas playlist playing quietly in the background, no doubt a list of songs carefully chosen by Peter. A beautifully decorated Christmas tree, complete with fairy lights, tinsel, their special custom ornaments and Tony's photo pasted onto the star on top of the tree. Thor himself was in a Santa costume and Carol touches the fake beard, laughing. Val and Carol were in ugly Christmas sweaters. Peter wore a red shirt that read 'Give Me Presents' and even Jessica had on a holiday themed shirt, though her leather jacket was still present. Matt was in a red sweater and Peter places a Santa hat on his head.

"Guys, holy shit," Tony gasps. "This is amazing." 

"Merry Christmas, Stark," Jessica says. "You deserved a good holiday." 

"Thank you," he says sincerely. "I don't even know what to say."

Carol takes a Death Star cookie and gives it to Tony, smiling, "You don't need to say anything. Just spend Christmas with us." Tony takes the cookie and bites into it, eyes widening.

"This is awesome," he says. "Who made these?"

Thor raises his hand and laughs, "Just for you. But please leave some for the rest of us."

"Sure," Tony agrees eagerly, reaching for a Darth Vader one. 

"I knew you were gonna get that one," Val teases. "Come on, we have a Christmas movie marathon set up."

> "It did become my best Christmas. Though we didn't exchange any gifts, and nobody showed up at our door to sing us some carols, it was a night with my best friends and I couldn't ask for anything better."

When it was ten past 11 at night, they could all smell the scent of a Christmas dinner.

> "Every year, the block right next to ours held a Christmas dinner for the whole building on the roof. Our window had direct access to the staircase that led straight to the roof. Thor had always vowed to one day jump across from their roof to the other block's so he can finally have that Christmas dinner. Yet every year, he never pulled through."

"Guys. This is the year," Thor finally announces once he decides the food smells too good to miss another year of it. "I'm gonna make the jump."

"Oh my God, yes!" Val cheers excitedly. One by one, they all followed Thor out the window and up the stairs to the roof.

Thor stands on the ledge, looking at the roof just a small distance from his own. Matt says, "I've never seen how far the buildings actually are, but are you sure you want to make that jump?"

"Not too late to back out," Peter says. "But if you won't do it, I will."

Thor shakes his head, determined, "Nope. This is the year. I'm gonna jump." Concentrated, Thor takes a deep breath and leaps, landing on the other roof. They all laugh as Thor pumps his fist in victory. He says, "Come on over!" 

Peter takes Thor's former position on the ledge and jumps, bumping into Thor when he lands. Thor steadies him, laughing as he watches Val step up. She easily makes the jump, and Carol leaps over as well. Jessica helps with guiding Matt. Thankfully, because Matt was trained in martial arts, he didn't have too much difficulty. Especially since the space between the buildings wasn't a hazardous distance and he could jump safely.

Only Tony was left on the roof. He'd watched them all take a leap of faith across to the other roof.

> "Maybe that's all it was. Just a leap of faith. None of us ever know where in life we're gonna land. That's the fun part about life. We never know where we'll end up." 

"Come on, Tony!" Val laughs, waving to him from the opposite roof.

> "That was the year I got hit by a car. The year I got rejected by Peter Quill. The year I got left at the altar."

Tony grins, the first genuine one since the wedding, and jumps. Everyone cheers when Tony lands on the roof, and Jessica and Thor help him up. 

> "And damn it, if it wasn't the best year of my life. Because if any one of those things hadn't happened, I wouldn't have met your father. Of course, that story is just beginning."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated


	29. 7x1: It's Time To Grow Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter makes a decision and Thor has some things to confess to Tony.

> "Kids, last year was the worst yet best year of my life. Best because if it never happened, I would have never met your father. Worst because, well, I got hit by a car, I got rejected by the guy I loved and then I got left at the altar. So it wasn't a surprise that I was looking forward to 2005. Sure enough, it arrived."

* * *

**JANUARY, 2005**

* * *

"Jessica!" Val greets happily. "How's Oscar?"

Oscar was Jessica's landlord turned friend who, recently, turned boyfriend. The group was wary at first, because they were naturally protective of each other. The one time she brought him to MacLaren's because he and his ex-wife got into an argument and he needed time to breathe, the group's worries melted away and they decided they liked him. Oscar had a young son called Vido. Though Matt was the only one among them who had met him as of then, Matt confirmed that he was wonderful and the surprising thing was that Jessica genuinely liked the kid. 

"Good," she answers, sitting in the empty space next to Matt. Thor, Loki and Carol had to go to work at Asgard and none of them knew where Peter was, and had simply assumed it was time for another one of his Missouri therapy sessions. It was just Jessica, Val, Tony and Matt. "His kid says hi, by the way." 

"I miss him, I wanna see him again," Matt says. "Sorry, not see."

"God, you're so lame," Jessica grumbles. "But I'm watching Vido this Saturday because Oscar's gonna be out on a meeting so if you come over, you can meet him again."

Matt nods, "I'll be there. Also, when are you gonna set me up with that Frank Castle guy? Tony told me about him last month."

Jessica stares at Tony who grins at her. She shakes her head and replies, "Soon, okay? He's busy right now but I'll set it up. He doesn't mind meeting you either."

Tony rolls his eyes, "Everyone's love lives are going great except mine." 

"Hey, I'm single too," Matt says. "And if Frank doesn't like me or I don't like him, then I'll continue being single with you." 

"Maybe we should make one of those pacts where we marry when we're still single at 50 or something," Tony jokes.

Matt raises his hands in mock disgust, "Marry you? Tony, I would rather jump into an incinerator." 

Tony presses a hand to his chest, looking at him with pain, "You wound my heart, Murdock. Truly."

"Where's Peter, by the way? Thor said he didn't have work tonight," Val asks. "I had a new business proposition to offer him; Opening act for Heroes for Hire's tour."

"That's awesome," Tony comments. "But I don't know where he is either. He didn't tell us. I think he's in Missouri."

> "He wasn't in Missouri. As a matter of fact, he was in Los Angeles." 

"Good evening, Mr Quill. I'm sorry I'm late, I came as soon as I could," the estate agent greets, coming up behind Peter with the apartment's key.

"No, it's fine. I'm sorry this was pretty last minute," Peter apologises. He follows her into the apartment and takes a look around the empty place.

"So this is a really good area. You can't see it right now, but you get plenty of sun in the day," she says, walking around the apartment as she speaks. "There's numerous good restaurants nearby, a huge mall that's a ten minute drive away. I go there most of the time. You'll love it. The acoustics in this place is really good too, I think you said you were a musician?"

"Yep," Peter says absently, thinking over the apartment. It did seem pretty nice. The problem was that he couldn't see himself living here. There was nothing wrong with the place. Peter just couldn't imagine himself anywhere this far from Thor, from his life. 

She asks, "Do you have anything you'd like to know about this place?"

Peter nods slowly, still observing the apartment, "Yeah, one question. Is there a bar or a pub near here?" 

"None that I know of," she replies. 

"Okay, what about cafés? Specifically the kind with musicians," Peter asks. He realise he sounds a little desperate.

She gives him an apologetic look, "None of that sort. The nearest one that's like that is an hour away."

_It's so different_. 

"I see," Peter mumbles. "Um, I'll think about it. How many other people are eyeing this place?"

"Surprisingly enough, right now, not a lot of people are looking for apartments like this one. You and one other person are vying for it, but she's not that into it. I think you can take your time, really think if you want it. But, personally, I really recommend it. One of my favourite apartments I've had to sell. I'm sad I can't get it myself, honestly." 

Peter smiles politely. He could see why she would want the place for herself. It really was nice. It just wasn't exactly home.

"Thanks for meeting me tonight," Peter says. "I'll call you when I make up my mind." 

"Of course, Mr Quill," she says. "Well, I'll see you again. Hopefully soon, with a decision." 

"Yeah," he says.

* * *

Peter arrives at MacLaren's straight from the airport after he returned from Los Angeles. It was around 3 in the morning by then, mainly because Peter had stopped by Missouri for a chat with his therapist before going home. 

Nobody was around. Everyone is most likely still asleep. It's just him. He doesn't order anything, sliding into the usual booth and just staring at his hands, trying to figure it all out. 

> "That night, your uncle Peter sat in the bar alone and thought about the hours of sleep he missed. He thought of every person he loved leaving him. He thought about his mom. He thought about how his sister moved to London. He thought about Thor loving someone else. He thought about how alone he was."

Peter doesn't even realise he's crying until a waitress taps his shoulder, offering him a tissue. Once she walks away, he breaks down sobbing. 

> "And then he cried until the bartender woke him up. He went back upstairs to change."

Peter changes out of his clothes and into some moderately clean ones he found on his floor. He messes up his hair a little more in the mirror and once he decides he looks convincingly enough like he'd just woken up, he opens the door and walks out into the living room.

"Good morning, boys," he greets. "Pancakes?"

"You know it," Tony grins. "Here's that chocolate sauce you wanted. Thor ran out to get some more yesterday." 

"You wouldn't believe the audacity of this guy at the supermarket. What an asshole," Thor says, ready to launch into a dramatic story. 

> "Then he laughed over Pancake Tuesday like it was nothing. But he had made up his mind."

* * *

**MARCH, 2005**

* * *

> "In March of 2005, a lot of us were in a pretty good and stable place in our lives. Thor, even though he hadn't talked about him much, was, as far as we knew, still dating T'Challa. Carol and Val's relationship was still just as strong as it was when it started. Jessica and Oscar were going great by her standards. Matt and Frank had a second date planned since their first one went well. I had completed the partnership with Hope about Pym Tech and Stark Industries. And Peter had come to a new decision that he shared with us one day." 

"I'm moving to Los Angeles," Peter announces. Everyone pauses in their drinking, even Jessica, who never liked to be interrupted when she drank. 

"What?" Tony is the first one to break the silence. 

"Why?" Thor asks, feeling something in him drop. He didn't know what to do.

Peter gives him a look he can't read, and says, "It's time to let go of the fantasies. It's time to grow up. I need new scenery."

"Wait, but why? Did something happen?" Carol asks, bewildered.

"No, nothing happened. I just decided that maybe it's the best option for me if I leave," Peter says. "I promise I'll visit every once in a while."

Jessica downs the rest of her bottle, Matt tilting his head silently as if he was trying to think of something to say. Val laces her fingers together. It was their version of being rendered speechless. Eventually, Jessica says, "Then you're spending the night with me. I don't know when you're planning to leave, but _I'm_ planning to get all the Quill time I have left." 

"This isn't the last you're seeing of me, guys, come on," Peter says, laughing a little awkwardly. He hadn't expected them to be so opposed to the decision. Though, he was grateful that at least Jessica was taking it in stride.

"You say that, but once a week will become once a month, and then one day that's going to be once a year," Val frowns. "Why do you have to go?" 

"I told you, I need this," Peter says. 

Jessica puts her jacket back on and says, "Well, back to my place, Star Boy. Let's go. We need to talk." 

"I'll see you all tomorrow," Peter promises, following Jessica out of MacLaren's.

"I'm gonna go home," Thor says once they're gone.

"Me too," Carol agrees. "I'm going to miss him."

* * *

"Come on, buddy. He's not here. Talk to me," Tony says when the door closes behind them.

"Why do I feel so... out of place?" Thor mumbles, sitting next to Tony on the couch. "He's still here but it doesn't _feel_ like it. I know he wasn't always with us at the bar since he only started joining us in 2002, but MacLaren's is not going to be the same without Peter..." 

Tony listens to him talk until the realisation dawns on him, "You like Peter, don't you?"

Thor's eyes widen slightly when the words leave Tony's mouth, and the question sits in the air in an uncomfortable silence until Thor says, "I don't think you'll want to hear this." 

"Tell me." 

Thor finally admits, "Fine, I... I'm sorry to say it, Tony. I've liked him since I first met him. But you were dating him and you're my best friend, so I never told anyone about it. But when you two hit the one year mark, I gave up and started dating T'Challa. Then days after I get together with him, you two announce that you broke up. I wasn't going to break up with T'Challa then, I would be a complete asshole. Plus, he's a great guy, so I just stayed with him hoping that eventually I forget about Peter and love him instead but it just... it never came to pass." 

"You are a fucking idiot, Thor," Tony mutters. "Why didn't you tell me you had feelings for him? Why are you basically leading T'Challa on?"

"I'm not leading him on! I liked him too!" Thor defends. "But I guess... I just like Peter more." 

"Tell me the whole story," Tony says. "Leave nothing out." 

Thor sighs, sitting down next to Tony on the couch as he begins to talk, "When you introduced us to Peter at Knowhere... I mean, you dated him, you would know. He's charming, funny, handsome, talented. It's hard not to like him. But as I said earlier, I didn't do anything because he was your boyfriend. But because you were dating him, he started coming to MacLaren's too and my crush on him kept getting worse. Then the thing with his mom happened. That's why I apologised to you for falling asleep with him even though we didn't do anything. Because I liked him and that automatically made it bad. Then Peter was teaching Loki how to sing and my brother asked me to come along for the practice sessions as a second opinion. When he went to the bathroom one time, Peter sang _La Vie En Rose_ and Tony, my God, he sounded like an angel."

Tony listens silently, wondering just how he missed every sign. Now that he was hearing this, he realised how stupidly _obvious_ it should have been that Thor liked Peter. How hadn't he seen it before? Now that conversation Jessica had with him at the clinic in 2003 made sense. 

Thor continues, "I got together with T'Challa to get over him. I liked T'Challa, of course, or I wouldn't have dated him. I just hoped that my feelings for T'Challa would eventually win over the ones for Peter the more time I spend with him. But then Peter moved in with us and it all came back. I thought I could live with this, get past it, until he said he was moving to L.A.. It became clear to me that I'm just as hopeless as I was in 2002."

> "While he confessed about how he came to love my ex-boyfriend, all I could think about was how Peter and I broke up two years before because he's in love with Thor. and then all I could think about was how I had to make a decision on what to do." 

"I'm sorry, Tony," Thor says quietly.

> "Kids, when you're single, all you're looking for is happily ever after. But only one of your stories can end that way and the rest end with someone getting hurt. In this case, that someone was me, and the happily ever after belonged to Thor and Peter."

"What can you do, right?" Tony sighs. "You should tell him." 

"What?" Thor asks, caught off guard. "But you still..."

"Yeah. I know. But he loves _you_. I want him to have everything he wants no matter how much it destroys me," Tony says. "So just do it. Tell T'Challa and tell Peter."

"I don't need to tell T'Challa," Thor replies quietly. "He broke up with me in October last year."

Tony blinks in surprise, asking, "So when you said things were okay between you..."

"I was lying. I didn't want to ruin your wedding with my life," Thor says. "I meant to tell you guys in January but it just kind of kept slipping my mind. I couldn't find the right moment."

**=== OCTOBER, 2004 ===**

T'Challa shows up at Asgard and says to Thor, "Hey, I need to talk to you." Thor breaks his gaze from Peter's performance and turns to T'Challa, nodding. He calls Loki over to replace him at the counter and follows T'Challa out of the café. 

"What's up?" Thor asks.

"I need to break up with you," T'Challa says. Thor's face falls.

"Why?"

T'Challa throws a hand up in exasperation, "Because, Thor, you're clearly in love with Peter!" Before Thor can say anything in his defence, T'Challa continues, "Don't bother denying it. You probably hear this a lot, but it's true. I just see it. What the two of you have, I could never compete."

"You're not competing with him," Thor tries weakly. 

"I feel like I am," T'Challa says. He takes a deep breath and restarts, "I'm not saying you're a bad boyfriend. In fact, you might actually be one of my best relationships. But I can't do this. I can't spend all my time worrying about the day Peter can't stay away and steals my boyfriend."

"He wouldn't do that," Thor says.

T'Challa nods, "I know he wouldn't, but can you blame me for worrying about that? The way you look at him... I feel like I only _read_ about that kind of love. Listen, I'm not mad, okay? You can't help the way you feel, so I don't see a reason to blame you. I have a feeling this was even before you got together with me. I just want to know why you asked me out if you loved him so much."

"Because I wanted to get over him," Thor admits. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." 

"I'm not the kind to hold grudges," T'Challa says. "So I forgive you. But I'd rather you lost my number when I walk away." 

"Anything you want," Thor agrees hesitantly. "T'Challa, I hope you know that I really did like you." 

T'Challa replies, watching Thor slowly delete his number from his phone, "But you loved him. I get it. As I said, I'm not mad, I just think it's best if we don't remain friends after this." 

"Okay," Thor says, showing T'Challa his phone. "I deleted it. Have a good life, T'Challa. I'm sorry."

"Goodbye," T'Challa says, walking the opposite way down the street as Thor sighs, returning to Asgard.

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

"You have to tell Peter you love him," Tony decides, ignoring the ache in his chest. _It isn't about you._

Thor whispers, unable to get his voice to be any louder, "But Peter's leaving tomorrow."

"It doesn't matter if he's going to live in Los Angeles until he's old or if he's going to stay in this apartment forever! You should tell him. If it's meant to be, you just need to tip the first domino and everything else will fall in place," Tony says. Thor exhales softly, letting the uncomfortable silence settle between them. Tony breaks it by asking, "I know why _I _fell in love with him, but what I want to know is why you did."

"He's amazing, Tony," Thor blurts out. "It's like... I know I didn't spend as much time with him as you do, and I've had close to zero remotely romantic encounters with him, but --"

"Wait, wait, wait. Close to zero? You were never together. When did you even have any? Is this about the Indiana Jones thing?" Tony cuts in, confused.

Thor looks like a deer caught in headlights when he realises what he said. Shame crosses his face as he confesses, "When we went to Halloween at Carol's friend Talos' house, me and Peter went to the balcony. You remember that."

Realisation dawns on Tony's face and he says, "Thor, if you say you kissed my boyfriend..."

"I didn't," Thor quickly clarifies. "We were just talking --"

**=== 31 OCTOBER, 2002 ===**

"Finally, some room to breathe," Peter laughs, closing the balcony doors behind him and Thor once the two of them get there. "I know I sided with you coming as Anakin, but I kinda wish you did come as Chewie. How awesome would that have been?"

"Very awesome," Thor answers, with a grin of his own. "Too bad I didn't have the time." The two of them lean against the balcony railing, looking down the neighbourhood street. "This place is so great. Me and Tony almost tried to get a house like this in 1997, but we decided our apartment was full of too many great memories to move."

Peter smiles, "That's nice. I like your apartment."

"That makes two of us," Thor says. "It sounds stupid, considering how it _is_ my home, but it feels like home."

"That's not stupid. When I visit, it feels like home too," Peter replies. "I'm sure if you asked the others, they'll say the same." 

Thor jokes, "Wow, I'm so touched by your great review."

"Shut up," Peter chuckles, nudging Thor's shoulder with his own playfully. "You're the one who started talking about the house. I just humoured you. You should thank me."

"Thank you," Thor says, humouring him back.

"That was so fake," Peter rolls his eyes. Thor laughs, shaking his head. _Why did he have to love him?_

He leans a little closer, saying, "_Thank you_, Peter Quill."

"Better," Peter replies. Because he'd leaned in, because he was possibly a little giddy at the thought of how close he was to Peter's lips, because he was high off the Halloween hype, because Tony doesn't know they're out here alone. Thor finds himself leaning in a little more, slightly. Peter doesn't make any move to stop him and Thor thinks _this is actually happening_, until it doesn't.

Peter turns away before their lips touch and he laughs awkwardly, "We should get back before someone notices we're gone."

"Yeah, yeah," Thor agrees, nodding tensely. Peter opens the balcony doors again and Thor curses inwardly, following Peter back to Tony's side. 

His heart aches when Tony greets Peter by calling him babe, knowing he'd never have who he wanted. It aches a little more when Peter offers to go home early with Tony, even though Tony insists he not cut his night short for him. It aches even more when Tony takes off his helmet to kiss Peter. But it shatters completely when Peter kisses back happily, and it's like the kiss-that-didn't-happen really didn't happen. _Why did I have to love _him _of all people?_

**=== PRESENT ===**

"You tried to _kiss_ him?" Tony almost explodes. "I was dating him, Thor! He was _still_ my boyfriend!" 

"I know!" Thor replies loudly. "I know he was your boyfriend! It was the _only_ thing on my mind for as long as your relationship lasted! That's why I feel so guilty about almost kissing him, but I didn't!"

Tony says, lowering his voice, "The way you just explained it to me sounds like if Peter didn't cut your moment off, you would have kissed him. Just tell me if that's true or not. Would you have kissed him if he didn't stop you?" When Thor hesitates in his answer, Tony pushes again, "Would you, or would you not, have kissed him if he didn't stop you?"

"I would," Thor admits quietly. "I'm sorry, Tony."

"For God's sake, Thor. You were my best friend, I can't believe you would have done that."

"But I _didn't_!" Thor points out. 

"Because Peter decided to be a good boyfriend and not kiss someone he _wasn't_ _dating_!" Tony argues. He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly before saying, in a calmer voice, "Matt could put you up for a few days. He has a guest bedroom."

Thor's face falls even more than it already has, "Are you kicking me out?"

Tony makes an irritated expression as he explains, "I just need space and time. 2003 isn't that long ago. We broke up _not long ago_. The fact that you tried to kiss him while he was my boyfriend just stings. So can you please just give me room to breathe?"

Thor relents, asking, "Can I at least pack some of my stuff?" 

"Be out of here by midnight," Tony says. "I'll tell Peter that you're rooming with Matt to help him with relationship issues or something."

"Okay," Thor obeys. "Tony, I'm sorry. I really am." 

"Just stop, okay?" Tony says, collapsing onto the couch. "Pack your stuff and leave me alone. Some best friend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	30. 7x2: Window Never Opened Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony follows some advice from Oscar and Peter makes a bold move.

> “Kids, in March of 2005, your uncle Peter announced that he was planning to move to Los Angeles. He hadn’t mentioned anything about thoughts of moving away before, so this caught us by surprise. What made the news of the guy I was in love with moving away so suddenly was the confession Thor made to me right after the news broke. He told me he’d been in love with Peter since he first met him and I was okay with that, until he admitted he tried to kiss him while he was still with me. Since then, I asked him to crash at Matt’s place instead and we haven’t spoken.”

* * *

** APRIL, 2005 **

* * *

“What happened between you two? I didn’t think you would have this rift between you two again,” Jessica asks, bordering on impatient. “It’s been a whole month. You don’t show up at MacLaren’s together. Thor’s staying with Matt for some reason. What’s wrong?” Oscar sits quietly next to her, obviously withholding any input he may have out of respect for their privacy. He was still fairly new to the group, especially since he rarely accompanied Jessica to MacLaren’s as he had to take care of his son. He didn’t want them to think he was intrusive, he made use of every MacLaren’s visit to make a good impression. He wanted Jessica’s friends to like him because he just really liked her.

“If you don’t tell Thor and Peter, I’ll tell you,” Tony says. Jessica nods and Oscars mimics a zipper over his lips. Tony exhales and starts explaining, “So Thor has been in love with Peter since 2002.”

“Obvious. What else?” Jessica asks. 

Tony blinks in surprise; it hadn’t been obvious to him. Though, Jessica was an investigator. He supposes he should have expected it. He continues, “He told me he and T’Challa have been broken up since October.”

“I was wondering why he stopped coming to the bar,” Jessica mumbles. At Oscar’s unfamiliar expression, she explains, “T’Challa is this guy Thor dated since late 2003.” Oscar nods, trying to commit that to memory. (He just really wanted to impress her friends).

“And he told me he tried to kiss Peter at Carol’s friend’s Halloween party in 2003,” Tony finally says. Now it’s Jessica’s turn to look surprised.

“But weren’t you and Peter together?”

“Exactly!” Tony says. “That’s why I got mad. He said he would have went ahead and kissed him if Peter didn’t stop him.”

“Wow,” Jessica mutters. “I get why this rift exists now.”

Oscar tries, “I know this isn’t my place to say, but maybe it’s time to move on.”

“I’m moving on, at least trying to, but this is about Thor being a shitty friend,” Tony explains.

Oscar replies, “I know, but it also happened two years ago. It’s 2005, that happened in, what, 2003? I hope I’m not overstepping if I say that I doubt you’re the same person you were two years ago as you are now, and he would be a different person too.”

“True...” Tony trails off. Thor and Tony, and the rest of them, have definitely changed innumerous little ways over the years. Carol wasn’t as patriotic as she was two years ago. Val actually learnt how to cook since two years ago. Matt is a lot less rowdy now than two years ago. Jessica is in an actual committed relationship, which she wouldn’t have even thought of two years ago. Peter is in love with someone when two years ago, he might have laughed at the idea of needing someone who wasn’t his mother more than he needed to breathe. Thor actually told Tony every single thing when two years ago, Thor hadn’t said anything. And Tony... He knew he isn’t the same person he was in 2003 as he is in 2005.

“Talk to him,” Oscar advises. 

> “But I didn’t talk to Thor.”

“I’ve been thinking about that for a while... This was hard to come to terms with, but I had to admit it to myself,” Tony says. “I mean, it’s always been staring me in the face. Peter and Thor have been in love for years. That stupid kind of love you just wish you had. I have to admit to myself that at this point, I’m only fooling myself with any hope of being with Peter again.”

“I’m sorry,” Oscar says sincerely. “But you’ll find someone. Maybe it’s sooner than you think. You never know who’s around the corner.”

> “Indeed, you don’t. But whoever was around that corner Oscar talked about wasn’t my concern. My biggest concern for then was Peter Quill. I knew that Peter was currently on a flight to Los Angeles while I was at MacLaren’s. He told me that morning that he was going to check out the place one last time, make his final decision. I wanted to get to Peter before he made a choice he would regret.”

Tony practically runs to the counter at the airport, trying to collect his plane ticket to L.A. that he booked online. He adds, “Also, can I buy another ticket? Earliest flight possible from about an hour after my L.A. flight lands?”

“Of course, sir. I take it it’s from L.A. since you’re going there. What will the destination be?” the clerk asks, pulling up a seat booking page.

> "My best friend was in love with the same man I was. The selfish part of me wanted to keep them apart, the hopeful part of me prayed I still had a chance. But the part of me that was Thor's best friend, despite our rift, took me to the airport. Because my love for Peter had kept me from the most important lesson of all --"

“One ticket to New York, thanks,” Tony says.

> "-- It wasn't about me. It was about the man Peter was leaving behind. And that wasn't me. I took the plane to L.A with that New York ticket in my hand and an address in my mind."

The clerk nods and informs him, “You’re in luck. There’s a seat available in economy. I’ll print the ticket for you.” Tony pays for the plane ticket with his credit card, thanking the clerk once again before he makes a run for the departure hall.

The flight mostly had him anxious. He knows Peter’s more than likely still on his flight and he had plenty of time to get to him, but he feared that Peter would make up his mind before getting to the apartment and his window of opportunity was lost.

When he gets off the flight, he immediately makes his way to the nearest curb, trying to find a cab to flag down. Tony reads the messy scribbles on the post-it he’d found on Peter’s table in his room. Thankfully, Peter left the address of the apartment there. Otherwise, that flight would have been for nothing. Once the cab he hailed brought him there, he went up the elevator, pressing the button in a useless attempt to make it go faster. He had to get to that apartment before Peter decided to buy it.

When the elevator doors open, Tony rushes out, reading every door number until he comes to 616. He opens the door — unlocked — and sees Peter talking to the agent. Peter turns around and his mouth falls open in surprise, not expecting to see Tony there. Before he can say anything, Tony interrupts.

"' _Tony, what are you doing here? Come in! I know the apartment's small but I don't need much space. What do you think about it?_'  Just  stop it!" Tony explodes, walking into the apartment. 

The agent awkwardly says she’ll leave them alone and leaves the apartment, shutting the door behind her. Peter stares at him with wide eyes, too surprised by his outburst to come up with a response. Tony takes a deep breath and starts, "Peter, you have to come home. You and Thor belong together. The two of you have something most people search their whole lives for and never find. I know you love him and if you knew what he was going through right now, you wouldn't be here for one more second." Tony reaches into his pocket and pulls out the plane ticket he bought earlier, "I bought you a ticket home."

Peter's mouth falls open, not knowing what to say other than, "Tony, why are you doing this?"

"Because Thor is one of the best people I know and it won't be long until someone else realises that and you will lose him forever. I can't stand the thought of that happening. Even if it means you could be with me.  That's how much I think he deserves you," Tony says. "Take the ticket and come home."

Peter stares at the ticket and then back up at Tony, thinking of what to say. He settles on, “But he won’t love me.”

“That’s the thing about life, isn’t it? We never know what’s gonna happen,” Tony says. “Go home, Peter. Please. We need you, I need you. He needs you.”

Peter hesitates before he finally takes the ticket from Tony, “Okay. I’ll... I’ll go back, think about it.” He starts to walk out when he realises Tony isn’t following. He asks, “Aren’t you coming along?”

“I’m gonna hang around L.A. for a little while longer, I think,” Tony says. “I’ll be back home soon, but you go ahead. I really hope you decide to stay. We all do.”

> “Peter went to the airport after that and I stayed in L.A.”

Peter sits in the seat Tony had booked for him, next to an old woman who makes amiable conversation, “So, New York. Are you visiting?”

Peter thinks about his life in New York. Most of his life memories were there. All his friends were there. He spent his last years with his mom there. He worked most of his jobs there. He fell in love there. Thor was there...

He finally makes a decision and answers, “Going home, actually.”

> “After walking the streets of L.A. for a few hours, try to get my mind off of me letting my chance with Peter go hours before, I decided to head home.”

Tony tries to find the departure hall, barely being able to miss colliding with someone’s luggage. The strawberry blonde starts apologising profusely, “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tony assures. She helps him up off the floor and he asks, “Why the rush?”

“New York flight leaving in half an hour and I can’t find the departure hall,” she answers. “Are you heading there too?”

“Yeah, we can find it together,” Tony offers. 

She introduces as they start walking, “I’m Pepper.”

“Tony,” he replies. “What are you going to New York for?”

“I’m moving there. These are my last few things, I sold my apartment here in March and just finished moving all my stuff over to the one I bought in New York City,” Pepper explains. “I still need a job...”

Tony says, “I know we literally just met, but if you’re good at keeping organised, maybe you could come work at my company? I’m desperately in need of an assistant, I’m drowning in my work. You’ll be paid well.”

“If you give me your number, I’ll think about it,” Pepper says. “What would I have to do?”

“You’ll have responsibility over my schedule. Setting appointments with clients and partners, helping send out contracts and so on. I’m not doing any of that ‘pick up my dry cleaning’ crap,” Tony says. “You’ll think about it?”

“I will,” she promises, smiling. “Oh, I think I see the departure hall sign. What’s your seat number?”

“36A. You?”

“Oh, I’m 36B. What a small world.”

> “Hours later, Peter’s New York flight landed. While on my own flight, I talked to Pepper about what happened with Peter. I told her that even after telling him to go home to Thor, there was some part of me that, for some reason, believed that the window of opportunity to be with Peter would open again in the future.”

When Peter returns to New York from Los Angeles, he instantly calls a taxi to take him to MacLaren’s Pub. Tony’s speech to him at the apartment had given him some newfound motivation to tell Thor what he deserved to know. The moment the taxi drops him off, he takes in a deep breath and places his hands around his mouth to try to make his voice a little louder. He knew Thor didn’t have work that evening. 

"Thor!" Peter yells. Thor raises the window and squints past the raindrops to see Peter standing downstairs, without a raincoat or an umbrella.

"Peter, it's raining. Come upstairs," Thor says.

"No, I feel like if I do, I won't have the guts to say all this," Peter declines. "I spent my whole life running away from everything that scared me. I can't keep running, it has to stop somewhere. I might as well start with you. Plus, if this goes south... then at least you don't have to ask me to leave."

Thor leans out of the window and asks, "What is it?"

"You know, my life really turned around after I met you. I grew up without a dad. I was bullied throughout my school life. Most of my girlfriends and boyfriends never really loved me. I never got to complete any part of my education. I didn't have any friends. I hated myself more than anything. But meeting you has turned it all around," Peter rambles, raising his voice so Thor can hear him above the rain. "The days didn't seem so long then and I had a reason to wake up every morning. Yeah, sometimes I feel especially crap, but you always made me feel better. You reminded me why I was still here. I guess what I'm trying to say is... Thor, this is just a long-winded way of saying I'm in love with you. Have been since I met you, but I didn't realise it until it was too late and you were with T'Challa. I broke up with Tony because I loved you."

Thor blinks in surprise, trying to process Peter's confession. Peter wipes the rain off his eyes, runs a hand through his hair as he thinks about what to add.

"Look, Thor. I'm not... I don't have my hopes up. I'm not expecting this whole speech to result in some great love story. If you want me to go, I'll move to L.A.. It's your choice. But I just wanted to let you know that I'm in love with you, I think I always will, and that the fact that you even like me as a friend makes me feel like the luckiest man alive," Peter says truthfully. "I didn't think you would ever even like me. I'm a complete mess. My life is always screwed over one way or another. I always disappear without saying anything like a complete asshole. I'm just... not a good guy at all. Who could ever love someone like that?"

"I could," Thor finally says. "I could love someone like that."

"What?" Peter barely whispers, barely understanding what Thor just said. Thor disappears from the window and a few seconds later, he's running down the steps of the building. Before Peter can react, Thor's hands cup Peter's cheeks as he crashes his lips against his. When Peter's brain finally catches up with his heart, he puts his arms around Thor's neck to pull him closer, kissing him under the pouring rain.

Thor breaks the kiss and he repeats, "I could love someone like you. I always have.

Peter grins, partially in total disbelief that  holy shit, this is actually happening , and partially in pure ecstasy. He pulls Thor into another kiss. And again. And once more. He kissed him until they had to break apart to breathe. Then they laughed because they were just so... happy.

Peter hasn’t been so happy in such a long time.

“Let’s get out of the rain,” Thor says, grinning. His cheeks were adorably red, and his eyes sparkled with this new energy. Peter liked it.

“Or we could kiss some more,” Peter suggests. Thor laughs endearingly and kisses him. 

> “Peter’s window never opened again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	31. 7x3: Don't Wait For Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Thor finally break the news and Matt gives Tony some advice.

> "Kids, if you recall in April, your uncle Peter confessed to Thor that he was in love with him and they kissed in the rain. They had been dating since then, but there was one thing: They decided to keep it secret. At first, they planned to not say anything for just the first month and tell the rest of us in May, but they couldn't find the right time and very soon, it was July and they had decided to just not tell us and wait for us to figure it out on our own. Other than that, I let Thor move back in after Peter said he was staying."

* * *

**JULY, 2005**

* * *

"Hey, everyone," Peter greets as he and Thor walk to their booth at MacLaren's, where Oscar, Vido and Jessica were there. Vido had a juice box in his hands and neither Jessica nor Oscar were drinking alcohol. Thor and Peter take the hint and order something non-alcoholic out of consideration for Oscar's son.

"Hi Uncle Thor and Uncle Peter," Vido replies cheerily.

"Oh my God, Uncle Thor?" Thor echoes, pressing a hand to his chest as if touched by the title.

Oscar grins, patting Vido's shoulder, "Jessica mentioned once that she hoped this little niño would get to know you guys more and I agreed. I hope you don't mind being called uncle by him."

"Not at all, we think it's cute," Peter assures. "How are you guys?"

"New case," Jessica replies simply. "Might need a little help on this one, actually." 

"Well, I can swing by your place tonight," Peter offers. Jessica raises her phone as to say she'll call him. 

"Will it take long?" Thor asks. 

Jessica shakes her head, "No. I just need a second opinion on some things and then I have dinner with these two." She points at Oscar and Vido with her thumb as she speaks. "Tony's at work?" Peter shoots Tony a text to ask.

"Yep," Peter says once the reply comes. "All day, in fact." He and Thor exchange a look.

* * *

"God, _finally_," Thor murmurs into Peter's neck as soon as the apartment door shuts behind them. Peter grins into the kiss when Thor brings his lips back up to his own. Thor works on getting his red jacket off him and Peter laughs.

"_Someone's_ impatient," Peter teases.

Thor mutters, laying the jacket down on the couch, "I've been waiting for a day like this for so long."

Because they had decided to keep their relationship a secret until someone in the group caught them (mainly out of consideration for Tony's feelings about it, even though he was apparently dating his assistant at work Pepper Potts), they had to cut their PDA to virtually _nothing_, and even sleeping together was a rare occurrence because they couldn't do it as long as someone else was in the apartment, especially if that someone else was _Tony_, who lived in the _same apartment_. Which meant that whenever Tony happened to be caught at his office, they took full advantage of it.

"Tell me about it," Peter agrees, kissing him again as he drags Thor by his collar into his room, locking the door behind them (just in case).

* * *

"Do you think something's up with Thor and Peter?" Val asks. 

Carol raises her eyes from the application form in her hands to Val. Carol had contemplated going back to school, get a different degree. She was considering engineering, since she had some idea of what to do with technology as a former air force pilot. She replies, "What do you mean?"

"They always run off at the weirdest moments," Val points out. "They always have that look when they explain where they were, like they're lying."

"You're right," Carol nods, realising. She adds, "And the other day at the bar -- you were at work at the time -- Peter was wearing a hoodie that I'm _sure_ I've seen Thor wear before." 

"Holy shit," Val says, eyes widening. "They're dating, aren't they?"

Carol puts down her application form and says, "Wow. How didn't we see it before?"

"What the hell, how long has this been going on?" Val mumbles, raising her phone. "I'm asking them to go to MacLaren's. We're gonna talk."

* * *

"Hey, you wanted to see us?" Peter asks, walking into MacLaren's with Thor by his side. Carol almost scoffs at how Peter is wearing a shirt that is clearly one size too big for him. Not at how he was wearing Thor's clothes, more at herself for not noticing it sooner. 

"You're dating," Val cuts right to the chase. Thor and Peter pause and reluctantly sit down across from them in the booth. Val leans closer and asks, "How long?"

Thor answers sheepishly, "Since April."

"What the -- Is that why you ended up not moving?" Carol asks Peter, who nods slowly. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because _Tony_ loves Peter!" Thor replies. "We know he's dating Pepper right now, but if he still liked Peter when he was going to marry Steve, then we weren't going to take our chances and ruin his mood. He got left at the altar not long ago. So we were just gonna keep the relationship between us until Tony himself noticed and was okay with it." 

Carol sighs, "You can't let someone else control your relationship... I love Tony, he's one of my best friends, so I know and am telling you that he's not going to move on as long as Peter is still available in his eyes. If he thinks Peter hasn't gotten together with you yet, then the only thing he knows is that Peter isn't going anywhere."

Thor says hesitantly, "That's true... We didn't think about it like that."

Peter asks, "So we should tell him?"

"Tell everyone," Val says. "The others deserve to know too. Come on, boys. We're your best friends." 

"You're right. We're sorry we kept it from you," Thor says. 

"I'm gonna miss it though," Peter says, a cheeky grin slowly coming up his face. "It was kind of fun keeping it just us two."

"It was," Thor agrees, having a smile of his own.

Carol shakes her head, laughing, "You really are perfect together, aren't you?"

"We are," Peter says, watching Thor fondly as his boyfriend laughs.

* * *

"Hey, what are you doing?" Thor asks, putting his arms around Peter's waist as the singer texts someone.

"Val's got a new job for me, I'm talking details with her," Peter answers, smiling at the contact or Thor's hands around his body. "Don't you have a shift to get dressed for?"

Thor nods, pressing a lazy kiss to Peter's cheek as he walks away to the couch, picking up the Asgard uniform he'd laid out earlier. He says, "I do, but don't you need to get dressed?" Peter is in a shirt that's clearly too small for him; it rode up his stomach slightly. He's also in these ridiculous shorts with stars printed on it in a polka-dot fashion. "Unless you're planning on working in that." 

Peter laughs, putting down his phone on the coffee table and walking over to Thor, holding his face between his hands and kissing his forehead. He says, "No, babe. _Relax_. Look, you can pick out what I wear to Asgard tonight, okay?"

"Hm, I think I quite like what you're wearing right now," Thor teases.

Peter rolls his eyes, turning away, "I look like an idiot and you know it." 

Thor catches onto Peter's hand and pulls him back to him. Peter laughs, humouring him and letting Thor drag him onto the couch. He kisses him and says, "Yeah, but you're _my_ idiot." Peter grins at him before kissing him and soon enough, the kiss got deeper until Thor's shirt is off and Peter's straddling him on the couch.

And then the door opens. Of course, it _had_ to open right then.

Tony is stunned at the sight -- he hadn't expected it. Why hadn't he expected it? He should have. He was an idiot to think that his big speech at the Los Angeles apartment wouldn't have inspired Peter to make a big speech of his own. 

"Um..." Tony trails off, clearing his throat awkwardly as he tries to look at anything but them. "I... I'm sorry for interrupting. Just came home to grab this." He raises a folder left on the dining table. "Sorry. Go ahead." 

He shuts the door behind him and takes a deep breath, running a hand over his face. _Why did I have to forget that stupid damn folder and why did Peter have to remind Pepper about it and why did Pepper tell me about it and why did I come home and see _that _of all things?_

Inside the apartment, Peter hides his face in his hands and Thor mumbles, "Well, I guess we're telling them tonight." 

"Jesus _Christ_," Peter sighs. "We really need better timing." 

> "That same night, Thor asked everyone to meet at Asgard instead of MacLaren's. I brought Pepper since I came straight from my office. Matt brought Frank and Jessica brought Oscar."

"What do you think they asked us to come here for?" Pepper asks. Tony's mind flashes the memory of Peter and Thor kissing on the couch, but he shrugs in response. Peter is already on the stage; his shift started an hour ago.

"_Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars. Let me see what spring is like on a-Jupiter and Mars_," Peter sings into the microphone, strumming his guitar. He smiles faintly at Thor from the stage as he continues, "_In other words, hold my hand. In other words, baby, kiss me. Fill my heart with song and let me sing for ever more. You are all I long for, all I worship and adore_." 

Thor serves a takeaway drink to a customer, attention on Peter. He mirrors Peter's grin as he continues singing, "_In other words, please, be true. In other words, I love you. Fill my heart with song. Let me sing for ever more. You are all I long for, all I worship and adore. In other words, please, be true. In other words, in other words, I love you_." 

"He sings so well," Pepper whispers to Tony, clapping as the last guitar chord rings out.

Val says, in awe, "I can't believe I really got him as my client."

"That was _Fly Me To The Moon_ by Frank Sinatra," Peter names as applause returns to him. "It's for someone special... Thor, my boyfriend." A series of 'aw's come from the audience and Peter grins, waving as if to say 'thank you'. Frank almost chokes on his drink and Matt has to pat his back to help him.

"Wait. What?" Oscar says, confused. _Why are Jessica's friends so hard to keep up with?_

"I knew it," Jessica mutters. "They were getting way too lovey-dovey."

Peter props the guitar up on the stand and says into the microphone, "I'll be back up here in ten minutes. Enjoy your food, everyone."

Peter and Thor walk over to the others, hands linked. Before anyone can ask, Thor lists off, "I know what you're going to ask. We've been dating since April. We kept it secret because we didn't know how you all would react to it, but Carol and Val found out and convinced us that it's time to let you guys know too." 

"That's awesome," Jessica says, tapping Matt's hand twice and then opening up her palm. "Cough it up, Murdock."

"Hasn't happened yet," Matt grumbles. "I'm not paying."

"What's that about?" Frank asks, eyeing Matt's wallet suspiciously.

Jessica replies, "You'll know soon enough."

> "We did know, sooner than we thought. But I'll tell you about that bet another time."

"Thought I would find you here," Matt says, sliding into the booth. Tony was there alone. He didn't even have a drink with him. "Okay, lay it on me."

"I'm really selfish," Tony says.

Matt sighs, putting out his hand and gesturing for Tony to hold it. Tony obeys, placing his hand in Matt's, and Matt says, "You're not selfish, Tony. You're just human. There's nothing wrong with feeling bad about it. That's why I'm here, so you could feel bad about it."

"I can't say it," Tony shakes his head.

"I know saying it's gonna make you feel like a bad person, so I'm giving you an out," Matt offers. "I'm going to say something even worse so you're not the worst person at this booth." When Tony looks up at him, knowing Matt can feel the curiosity radiating off of him, Matt says, "Jen and my firm hasn't had a well-paying case in a while, so I might take up a client who's guilty for making a child blind, the same thing that happened to me. I haven't told anyone about it until now, I was going to do the case in secret and just collect the cheque when it was done."

Tony blinks slowly, processing what Matt admitted while the lawyer takes in a deep breath, taking off his red glasses and putting them down on the table. Matt had gotten blinded as a child, as a result of his eyes getting doused in radioactive isotopes. Even with all the jokes Matt made about his blindness, the accident itself had never once been mentioned. Even in his unfocussed eyes, Tony can see conflict and agony in his impending decision to take the guilty client. 

Matt squeezes Tony's hand and he now had the courage to admit, "Peter should be with me." Matt nods quietly and Tony asks, "Are you really going to take the client?" 

"I don't know," Matt says. "I'm kind of desperate for work. It's not very profiting when a number of your cases are pro bono." 

Tony offers, "I can loan you some money, and you can return it whenever you can. I know this client goes against everything you are... If I let you go ahead with the case, I would never forgive myself. But most of all, I don't think _you_ could ever forgive yourself."

"Thank you, Tony," Matt says. "I'll take that loan."

"Good," Tony nods. "Just don't take the client." 

"I won't," Matt promises. "Back to your problem." 

Tony rambles, "I know it's stupid. I told Jessica and Oscar that I was fooling myself with any chance of getting back with him again. I was the one who told Thor to tell Peter how he felt. I was the one who told Peter that he should go home and be with Thor. Yet... Here I am." He laughs self-deprecatingly and Matt runs a comforting thumb over his hand. Tony continues, "I just want him to be happy... But I can't stop wishing that it was me he was happy with. It's irrational to think that, I know." 

"When you love someone you just... you don’t stop, ever," Matt says. "I mean, I know that I still sometimes think about my exes. Elektra, Foggy... Even you once or twice, since we're being honest. We'll never stop loving the people we once did, but the best we can do is to remember that that love? That love is in the past. There's something else waiting in the future. I mean, look at me. I've got Frank now. I think this one could be something great. There's going to be someone else for you." 

"I don't know," Tony mumbles. "I feel like my life was better when Peter was my partner. I mean, before he broke up with me, I didn't get hit by a car. I didn't get left at the altar. I didn't have to practically beg someone else to fall in love with my ex-boyfriend. I didn't listen to him serenade my best friend in front of the whole café. I didn't sit here drowning in unwarranted self-pity. He was like... a saving grace. Where the hell am I going to find someone like that again?"

"The perfect person is out there somewhere, Tony," Matt says. "And they're finding their way to you as fast as they can." 

Tony nods, though it's slightly disbelieving. He admits, a little shamefully, "Is it bad to say that there's the smallest part of me that thinks it's gonna happen? That this was all a fever dream and we can all go back to the way it was in 2002?"

Matt says gently, "If I can give you some advice; Don't wait for him to love you. Whether there's a part of him that does or doesn't... Life's short. You can't spend it all waiting for him."

> "And your uncle Matt was right. But I wasn't ready to accept it yet. And that's a story for another time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	32. 7x4: Twenty Countdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What a fucking long week this was for Tony Stark.

> "In the August of 2005, I was still dating Pepper. All of us were now in a relationship, after Thor and Peter revealed they were dating the previous month. Matt had Frank, Jessica had Oscar, Thor and Peter had each other, Carol and Val together, and I had Pepper. Life was alright."
> 
> Morgan and James give Tony flat looks. He sighs.
> 
> "Okay, fine. I was kind of in pain. You caught Past Me. Anyway. This story has to start from the beginning. And the beginning was when Carol helped Peter pick up a cassette he wanted to buy."

* * *

**AUGUST, 2005**

* * *

"I can't believe they charged me 20 bucks for a cassette," Carol complains, putting the Electric Light Orchestra cassette in front of Peter. 

Peter takes out 20 bucks out of his wallet and passes it to her, saying, "Sorry, but thanks for helping me get it. I've been looking everywhere for it, it's hard to find." 

"Why didn't you just get it online?" Loki questions, eyeing the old-looking cassette.

"I did. This was the cheapest one I could find," Peter replies. Carol keeps Peter's twenty in her wallet and puts an arm around Val. "Oh, yeah. Val, I did the bistro gig a while back but they haven't paid me yet." 

Val nods, taking out her phone, "I'll call them. Give me a minute." She leaves the table and Matt and Frank walk in. Carol moves to sit with Thor and Peter so Matt and Frank could sit on the other side with Loki. Frank pulls over an extra chair for Val when she returns to the booth. 

"Wow, a gentleman," Carol jokes. 

"Matt told me to do it," Frank mutters. 

Matt smiles, clearly enjoying Frank doing good things for him, "And I love you for that." 

Pepper asks, "Is he not normally nice?" While Pepper had been dating Tony for about three months then, she and Frank had only crossed paths once during that time and she still didn't know him that well. 

"No, I'm an asshole, " Frank replies. "Speaking of being an asshole, nice photo, Loki." The "compliment" was said sarcastically.

Val says, "Oh my God, yeah. I wanted to say that photo Loki posted on Twitter of you two was so cute." The photo in question was one Loki took of Peter and Thor, falling asleep together on the couch. Because the couch is not huge, the two of them were squeezing for space, but even Thor's leg ended up hanging off the edge. Tony had pointedly not interacted with the tweet, even when Pepper had brought it up.

Thor complains, "I look so _old_ in that photo."

"You literally look 19," Pepper says, bewildered.

"Exactly. It's not a bad photo," Loki sasses, taking the phone back. "Quit whining."

Thor laments, "I wish I didn't sleep on the couch. My back is killing me and I've got a long shift at Asgard tonight."

Peter leans into his side, agreeing, "Holding that guitar is gonna feel like a _bitch_." 

Tony mutters, "Maybe don't sleep with people on a couch, then." If he sounded bitter, Thor and Peter miss it completely. Did he want it to sound bitter? Maybe he did. So what if he did?

"You said that like you wouldn't do the same if you were 18," Thor teases with a smile. Tony rolls his eyes. He supposes it's true anyway. Tony had told Thor years ago about a girl he dated when he was 18 who, for some reason, liked sleeping on the couch and she always convinced Tony to join her. His back hurt every time. 

"Speaking of 18, what were all of us doing at 18?" Pepper asks. Tony has a feeling she's trying to change the conversation -- whether it's to avoid a possibly-impending talk about one of Tony's exes or because Tony's beginning to get a little too salty in the conversation, he doesn't know. 

"Mom, Loki and I were moving to America from Norway," Thor answers. "Jessica and Matt were still studying. Val was picking up her first client. Carol was in the U.S.A.F.."

"Until I was 17 , all I did was cry," Peter jokes. "And then when I was 18, I cried some more." 

"Come on, I'm sure you did more than that," Matt says. "You had to breathe too, didn't you?" 

"Oh, yeah," Peter nods. "That was the hardest part of my days."

Tony laughs, and Pepper suddenly stands, saying, "I need to head back to the office. Tony, you need to be back there by latest an hour's time." 

"Sure, I'll see you then," Tony says, kissing her on the cheek. She accepts it but she looked a little tense as she walked out of MacLaren's.

"Is she okay?" Carol asks, pointing at her with her glass.

"I'm sure," Tony nods. "Nothing's happened as far as I know." 

> "After that, we continued talking. About half an hour later, Jessica went back for lunch with Oscar and Vido. Peter, Thor and Loki went back to the apartment to help Loki run lines for a play he's a part of. Carol and Val went home. Frank had to go to work, which meant Matt and I were left."

"So, where are you and the two lovebirds at these days?" Matt asks. "Lay it on me."

"I'm sleeping alone now," Tony says simply.

"Peter and you switched rooms and now he's rooming with Thor and you're in his room? When did that happen?" Matt asks.

"16 days ago," Tony answers.

Matt asks, "And how do you feel about that change?" 

Tony shrugs, looking down at the floor, "I don't know. I mean, I knew this was coming. I can't expect the couple to sleep in different rooms, obviously. But it kind of bums me out, I guess." Tony's phone vibrates in his briefcase and he doesn't hear. However, Matt does.

"You've got a text," Matt notifies.

"How do you do that, man?" Tony asks, shaking his head as he goes to claim his phone. Matt's senses are insanely good, almost like they tried to compensate for his lost sight. 

Matt asks, "Is it Pepper?"

"Yeah, she texted me 15 minutes ago and then now, again," Tony sighs. "I gotta go. It sounds like she really needs to talk." 

"Tell me about it if you want," Matt says, waving. "See you later."

"You too," Tony replies. He taps Matt's hand twice to let him know he's leaving and he calls Pepper, greeting, "Hey, Pep. You wanted to talk?"

Her voice comes through the receiver, asking, "_Are you on your way back to the office?_"

"Yep," Tony affirms. "Where are you? I'll come meet you."

"_I'm in conference room 14_," Pepper says into the phone. Tony voices his acknowledgement and makes his way there.

> "I went back to Stark Industries and went to conference room 14 to talk to Pepper. When I went in, she looked upset."

"Sit down, we need to talk," Pepper says. "And your schedule is clear for another two hours, so we have plenty of time." 

"Oh, shit," Tony mumbles. "What did I do?"

"What did you do? Let me tell you. What you did is fall in love with someone else's boyfriend," Pepper answers, livid. "I'm not going to just stand here while you like someone else. If you like him so much, then just break up with me already."

"What are you talking about?" Tony asks, trying to play the clueless card.

"Peter Quill!" Pepper explodes. "You think you're not obvious? I've tried to ignore it but now, I can't. I refuse to feel like an idiot. What is your history with him?"

"We're exes," Tony answers, voice quiet. "From 2003."

"It's 2005 already, Tony. 2003 was a long time ago," Pepper sighs deeply, clearly annoyed. "And you're _still_ in love with him while he has a boyfriend. I see that face you're giving me. Don't even _try_ to deny it. I can see it all over your face. Listen, Tony. The future is scary but you can’t just run back to the past because it’s familiar. Yes, it’s tempting, but it’s a _mistake_!"

Tony resigns himself to silence, not having any argument for it. _It's true._ He knows it's a mistake. Every time he finds himself running back to Peter, he knows it's a mistake. Yet he can't stop making it, and he finds himself saying, "Yeah, there's things in life where you know it's a mistake, like Peter. But the only way you even know something's a mistake is by making it. So really, the biggest mistake of all would be to not make it, because then you’ll go your whole life not knowing if something was a mistake or not!"

Pepper frowns at him -- disappointment. Tony can't say he doesn't share her sentiments. 

She drops a pile of documents on his desk and says, "You still have 13 contracts to deal with, Mr Stark. I'm knocking off. For good." She walks out of his office for the last time and Tony buries his face in his hands, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

> "Two days later, my mom came all the way from Italy to spend the day with me and my friends. I loved her so much, so I was really happy that she came, even if it was without warning."

"Ciao, Mamma," Tony greets warmly in Italian. Maria breaks into a bright smile and kisses his cheeks, bringing him into a hug.

"Il mio dolce ragazzo," Maria coos.

Tony gestures around the group, saying, "You already know Thor and Carol. The others are Matt, Jessica and Peter." 

"It's good to meet you lot," Maria beams. 

> "We brought her back to our apartment so we could get her settled into my room since she was staying for three days. All of us except Matt, who wasn't there, stayed there to hang out with her. In the evening, we brought her to MacLaren's to show her where we always hung out. Matt appeared for a while." 

"Oh, this is your mom?" Matt asks, holding out his hand. Maria takes it and shakes it as Matt says, "My name's Matt. It's really nice to meet you. I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier." 

"No, it's okay," Maria smiles. "I've heard many nice things about you." 

Matt replies, "And I, you. Unfortunately, I can't stay very long. But if you'll let me take you out for lunch tomorrow, I would be happy to."

"Of course!" Maria accepts. "With your boyfriend?"

"With Frank, yeah, if you want him there," Matt nods. "I'm sure I can convince him to come along. I'm heading back to the boxing ring, I came here to say hi."

"You've been there since 12, man," Peter says. "You sure you don't wanna take a break or anything?"

"No, I'm good," Matt says. "I'm going back. If anyone wants to join..."

Thor shrugs, "I'll come. At least, just to make sure you don't exhaust yourself. Will you?" The last bit was directed at Peter, who nods and stands, following him and Matt out of MacLaren's. 

"You okay?" Carol asks once they're gone.

"Just fine," Tony lies, drinking his water.

> "Soon, night-time rolled around and me and my mom went back to the apartment. Thor texted to say he and Peter were staying out late because Peter wanted an impromptu karaoke date. My mom stayed in my room. I slept on the floor with a spare mattress and she took my bed. Sometime around 11, she spoke."

"What are you doing up, Anthony? It's 11," Maria asks in the midst of silence.

"11's not that late, Mom," Tony smiles.

Maria replies, "But there's something on your mind, no?"

"You're right... Pepper broke up with me two days ago. I haven't told anyone else yet," Tony sighs. Maria sits up in his bed, ready to listen. He follows, sitting up to face her. "You know about my history with Peter and then with Thor." She nods and he continues, "Now that they're together, I just don't know when I'll ever move on. Everyone keeps telling me someone better for me will come along -- Pepper told me it's a mistake to keep moving backwards -- but when? It feels like it's _never_ going to happen, like I'm gonna be alone forever. I'm never going to find that someone."

"Sometimes, things take a long time," Maria says. "I spent 10 years learning how to be good at the piano." 

Tony frowns, "I know. But I can't learn to love someone else."

"Nobody can learn to love people. My point is that everything takes time. Time heals all wounds," Maria says. "You may think Peter is the one. Maybe he is. Maybe one day, he'll walk down the aisle to you. Maybe he isn't, and he marries Thor or someone else. But I always believe that we can't always rely on probability. You of all people know probabilities are exactly that... just probabilities." 

"That's true," Tony nods.

"Go to sleep, dear," Maria says. "It will all be better in the morning." 

> "I went to sleep after that. I felt better. I always felt better talking to my mom. The next morning, I woke up and saw my mom was gone."

"Mornin'," Peter greets. "Thor took your mom out to see Asgard, they won't be back till noon. Also, Thor made that cup of coffee for you before he left. I think it's still hot."

Tony nods tiredly, taking the coffee and drinking it. It _is_ still hot. He asks, "What time is it?"

"9," Peter answers. "You don't have to head into your office for a while. Pepper didn't tell you?"

"Pepper quit," Tony says. "And she broke up with me."

Peter turns away from his laptop (a purchase Tony had gotten for him for his birthday in 2004) and asks, "Why? I thought it was going really well." 

> "And it was. But I couldn't tell him the real reason why we broke up. Because it was _him_, and he didn't need to know that I still loved him."

Tony shrugs, "Maybe she just got sick of me... Happens all the time." 

"Hey, no. Come on. You're awesome," Peter says, walking over to him. "Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. But that's just how it is sometimes." When Tony doesn't answer, he offers, "I wanna cheer you up. Tell me something you want. Anything at all."

_You_, Tony thinks. _I want you_. He answers instead, "Can you sing me something?"

"Sure," Peter instantly agrees. He moves over to the piano, saying, "Your mom taught me a little bit. I've only learnt one song, so I hope you like the Beatles."

"I love the Beatles," Tony says. Peter grins in response, beginning to play the opening of Eight Days A Week.

"_Ooh, I need your love, babe. Guess you know it's true_," Peter sings. "_Hope you need my love, babe, just like I need you. Hold me, love me. Hold me, love me. Ain't got nothing but love, babe. 8 days a week!_"

Peter gives him that look. That look like he wants him to join him in song. And obviously, Tony can't say no to that face. He sings, "Love you every day, girl. Always on my mind. One thing I can say, girl. Love you all the time."

"_Hold me, love me. Hold me, love me. Ain't got nothing but love, girl. 8 days a week!_" Peter and Tony sing together.

"_8 days a week, I love you_," Tony sings.

"_8 days a week is not enough to show my care!_" Peter gets into the song, grinning as the lyrics leave his mouth. Tony lets him finish the rest of the song himself, knowing he's now lost in the tunes. Thor said he loves how much Peter loves music. Tony agrees wholeheartedly, but it's not because he loved him. It's just heart-warming to see someone who treasured music like it was oxygen itself. 

"_8 days a week..._" Peter finishes. Tony claps and he laughs, standing to bow dramatically. He says, "Thank you, thank you." 

Tony asks, "Did you ever get lessons for singing or did you always sing as well as you did?" 

"No lessons. Mom couldn't afford it so I just watched a lot of Freddie Mercury," Peter answers. "Then I studied music but they were more on making instrumentals than singing. What about you? You sing pretty well." 

Tony replies, "Dad didn't like it. He thought it wasn't manly. My mom liked when I sang though. She taught me a little bit whenever Dad was down in the workshop or out on a meeting." 

"I never knew why you hated your dad so much," Peter says. "I heard he was really crappy but I didn't know what exactly he did."

"When I was 7, my dad hit me," Tony admits quietly.

Peter's eyes widen and he immediately apologises, "I'm sorry." 

"No, don't be. Wasn't your fault. If anyone should say sorry, it should be him," Tony replies. "But, you know, I moved out as soon as I could, moved into this place with Thor. Life's way better now that I see him much less." 

"Listen, if he ever tries anything... I'll beat him up for you," Peter says, causing Tony to laugh. 

"You sure?" 

"Hell yeah. You're my best friend, man. I'll do anything for you," Peter says. "If I could go back in time and beat his ass, I would."

"Stop it."

"No way." 

> "After that, we talked for a while more about our dads. I told him about my shitty dad, he told me about his basically non-existent dad. Then the conversation went to our moms. Peter told me about how when he met Thor's mother, who reminded him so much of his own mom. Eventually I had to leave for work, and after that, I decided to go to Jessica's place. I knew after that heavy talk about our parents... I knew Peter would go straight to Thor and it kind of hurt to think about the two of them, still. My mom said she wanted to spend some time catching up with Thor either way, so I dropped by Jessica's."

"I knew you were gonna come here," she says the moment she opens the door. There's a half-empty bottle in her hand.

"6 in the evening and you're already drinking," Tony says.

"I have the right idea," Jessica snorts. "If Oscar won't say anything about it, then you better don't."

"I won't. But also, Oscar doesn't because he doesn't wanna piss you off," Tony smiles, sitting on Jessica's desk. He picks up a pen on her desk; a grey one with 'JESSICA JONES' engraved into it. He asks, "A gift?"

Jessica affirms, not looking up from her laptop, "Oscar got it for me."

"You use it yet?"

"No, I'm saving the ink," Jessica answers. "What are you here for?"

Tony replies honestly, "A distraction from my apartment." Jessica eyes him for a moment before she puts away her bottle, taking her feet off of her desk and leaning forward. 

"Fine, you can stay," Jessica says. "Oscar's dropping Vido off in twenty minutes."

"I don't mind. I miss that kid," Tony says. "Think I want to get kids of my own someday... But I'm scared that I'll be a bad father because mine wasn't so great."

Jessica assures, "You would be a fantastic dad, okay? You love harder than anyone I've seen, which sounds so damn mushy so you know I mean it. Your kids would be lucky to have you as their dad."

> "And what do you know? I got you two."

"Maybe," Tony says. "We'll see about that. I don't even have a partner yet." 

Jessica says, "You will. Eventually. Look, Tony. If someone like me can get someone like Oscar, then I promise you that you're gonna end up with someone perfect for you."

> "I did. Your father is so perfect for me. I love him to bits. But I won't meet him yet for another few years. Meanwhile, I went home from Jessica's place." 

"Tony's home!" Thor announces as he comes into the apartment. Maria walks over from the couch and embraces him. The radio croons out the last notes of a pop song Tony doesn't know the name of and plays the next one. Peter immediately jumps up from his place on the couch, recognising it.

"The Five Stairsteps!" Peter says excitedly as the song starts playing.

"Please don't dance," Thor pleads. Peter sticks his tongue out at him and rebels, beginning to dance to _O-o-h Child_. Thor pretends to cover his eyes in second-hand embarrassment, though he's obviously peeking through the cracks of his fingers to watch his boyfriend dance.

"Come on, babe. Turn up that music," Peter requests. Thor obeys, cranking up the radio for him.

Maria leans over to Tony and asks, "Does he know how ridiculous he looks?" 

Tony laughs, nodding, "Yeah, but he likes it."

"I like your friends, Anthony," Maria smiles. "I'm very happy that you have them." 

"Trust me, I'm really happy too," Tony says. 

> "And I did mean it. In that moment, I didn't even mind that Peter was just a friend. I didn't mind that I wasn't where I wanted to be in life then. I didn't mind anything. All I knew was that I am so lucky to have this idiot who dances badly, the guy from Norway I gave a ride to, the brooding private investigator who's too honest for her own good, the blind lawyer who boxes like a champion, the hardworking talent agent who downs coffee like religion, the former air force pilot who enjoys her life serving coffee. My pal in the army who used to cut class at M.I.T. with me, even though I rarely got to see him. My family's butler who sneaked me snacks after bedtime. My mom who played the piano while she sang Italian songs. And I'm happy that I've got all of them."

"You should spend more time with them," Maria says.

Tony points out, "Mom, I see them almost every day. I live with Peter and Thor."

Maria smiles fondly, "I know. But life is short. You never know what's going to happen. If you have the chance to be with the people you love, you should take it."

"You're right," Tony nods. It's true, after all. Nobody can tell when any one of them would go. Whether that would mean moving away or moving on to new friends -- or the ever-dreadful thought of one of them passing away too early. They had the scare with Tony back in 2004, when he got caught in a car accident on the way home from Jessica's apartment. And then when they first met Peter, finding out that he got hit by a car and almost died. If anything had been the slightest bit different, they wouldn't have been there laughing at Peter's awful dancing. The apartment would have been too empty for Thor to stay there had Tony not managed to escape with just a broken arm.

> "It's a scary thought, death. We never want to think about the people we're always around dying. We don't know what our lives will be like when they go. The loneliness is terrifying. Which is why I agreed with my mom, that we should make the most of the time we have. They were good company and we had the time, so I invited everyone over for our annual Star Wars Night. Or, more accurately, Star Wars Afternoon. For the first time, it wasn't just me, Thor, Peter and Jess. Since he couldn't watch the movies, Matt said he'd catch up on them in his own time and decided to go out for that lunch with Maria and Frank."

"Yes! I've been waiting to get invited to one," Val says, picking out one of the DVDs and putting it into the reader. 

> "Somehow, Val suddenly started a conversation about the damn Ninja Turtles out of nowhere."

"There were only _four_ Ninja Turtles," Peter frowns. "Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo and Donatello. There was never five."

"Then who the hell was Splinter?" Val replies, bewildered.

Carol stares at her with wide eyes and says, "He's not even a turtle, honey." 

"I know! He's a rat or something. But maybe he's like an honorary turtle," Val rebuts. Peter and Carol burst out laughing.

"Honorary turtle?" Carol repeats. "I'm sorry, Val. That's too ridiculous." Val rolls her eyes and Carol kisses her cheek.

"How did we even get to Ninja Turtles?" Tony laughs.

Thor shrugs, "When Peter's around, the conversation always turns to some nerdy thing."

"Shut up, you love it," Peter says, punching his shoulder lightly. Thor takes Peter's hand and kisses it, causing Peter's cheeks to flush. "Why are you so romantic?" 

Jessica says, "Shut up, all of you. I'm trying to watch the movie."

"Sorry, keep the movie going. My mom's calling," Tony says. 

> "My mom called me to say Matt and Frank ran into their friends Danny and Luke. If you remember, Danny and Luke are the members of one of Val's bands, Heroes for Hire. Matt befriended them through Val and Frank coincidentally already knew them. Well, Danny and Luke offered to give her a tour around New York and she wanted to tell me she would be home late. She was pretty late."

It's very late at night when Maria enters the apartment. She has on ridiculous-looking heart-shaped plastic sunglasses. Tony rubs his eyes tiredly but he smiles, "Welcome home, Mom. Enjoy your day?"

"Yes! Luke and Danny were wonderful. Matt is so nice," Maria says. "And that Frank was unexpectedly generous. He bought me these because I liked them." She refers to her glasses and Tony kisses her forehead. 

"You look nice, Mom. Do you wanna go to sleep?" Tony asks. 

Maria nods as Tony leads her to the bedroom. She says, "I would like that, Anthony." 

Tony helps her into bed and says, "You gotta tell me all about today in the morning. Tomorrow's Pancake Tuesday."

"Okay," Maria mumbles, settling into bed. "Goodnight. I love you."

"Love you more, Mom," Tony replies. "Goodnight." 

> "In the morning, I took the day off to spend my mom's last day in New York with her. We spent the whole day going around New York. I showed her my office, some of my favourite spots in the city, had lunch and dinner at my favourite restaurants. At the end of the day, my mom asked if everyone could come to MacLaren's so she could say goodbye. I called and everyone made their way down."

"The past 3 days have been really nice," Maria says, smiling. Everyone returns her grin -- they all really liked her. "I can't wait to come back and see you again." 

"It was an honour to meet you," Peter says. "Really. I'm excited for the next time you come back."

Everyone says their goodbyes, and Tony sees Maria to outside MacLaren's where she hails a cab to get to the airport. Tony hugs her tightly and says, "Come back soon, Mom."

"You know I'm always here for you, Anthony," Maria promises. "The next time I can come back is in 2 months. I'll see you soon."

"I love you," Tony says. "Safe flight."

"Thank you," Maria says. "I love you too. Remember to take your time. It's going to get better." She kisses him on his cheek and the cab drives away. Once the cab is out of sight, Tony goes back into MacLaren's where Carol and Val run into him. 

"Hey, you're leaving?" Tony asks. 

"Yeah. Gotta go early because we didn't come here in Val's car," Carol explains.

"I'll walk with you, see you home," Tony offers. "Let's go."

> "I walked them home and then I came back to see Thor standing at the steps of our apartment block." 

Tony comes out of the cab to see Thor standing outside of MacLaren's and he says, "Carol and Val are home now. It's late, what time is it? My phone ran out of battery."

"It's 1," Thor answers. "Tony --" 

"Wait, why do you look upset? What's wrong?" Tony asks, face falling slightly.

"Your mom, she's... She didn't make it home," Thor says quietly. "The car burst a tyre and she didn't make it home." 

Tony's expression slowly slips to shock and then to grief. Thor wipes his own tears away as he steps forward, letting Tony cry into his shirt. Tony weeps, "I'm not ready for this." Thor only holds him silently, rocking the both of them back and forth as Tony sobs his heart out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	33. 7x5: Anthony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and the others attend Maria's funeral and he listens to her last voicemail.

> "Kids, in August, Pepper broke up with me because she hated that I was still in love with Peter. And good thing she did. I was wrong 1to be with her when I knew I couldn't fully reciprocate her feelings. It's good that she left me. I wasn't mad. My mom comforted me about her and told me I would find my someone one day. And I began to feel better, until days later, I was told my mom got into an accident on the way to the airport and died. Two weeks later, I went to my childhood home for the funeral."

* * *

"Are you feeling alright?" Carol asks as the car pulls up in the Stark household's driveway.

"No," Tony answers. He'd been doing horribly since Thor broke the news to him that his mother had died. It felt like some sick joke on him. Three people in his life, including him, got into a car accident and for some reason, _this_ was the one that stuck. Tony wished he could take his mother's place.

"Stick with me, okay?" Thor says, coming up to put his arm around Tony. Thor knew that Tony loved his mom a lot and losing her was hard, but another part of this that would be difficult was being at the funeral itself. Not only because he had to say goodbye to Maria for good, but also because his father would likely be there and they had no good history.

Tony nods wordlessly, letting Thor guide him into the house. There were few guests there, Howard had said he wanted to keep the funeral small. Jessica sits down on the couch with Matt (both had decided it would be best if their boyfriends didn't come along) and Peter asks, "Is there anything we can get for you, Tony? Water?"

"Yes, you can," Howard's voice says from behind him. They turn to face him and Howard continues, "If you could refill my glass, that would be fantastic."

Peter looks confused as he replies, "Um, sorry, sir. I was asking Tony."

"You're not a busboy?" Howard asks, staring Peter up and down in judgement.

"No, he's my friend," Tony answers for Peter. "Hey, Dad."

"Anthony, you're late. I expected you to show up earlier," Howard says condescendingly.

Tony rubs his face with his hands, "Can we please not do this here? Come on. You can be a dick to me any other day. Just not today, okay?"

"No. Your mother is dead and you couldn't even be bothered to come on time," Howard sneers.

Carol cuts in, "Mr Stark, we were late because we were caught in traffic. Tony made us all wake up extra early so we could be on time but we got caught in traffic. It's not his fault."

Howard shakes his head, "He has a whole company's worth of resources to use."

"He can't just use the company's resources for his own purposes," Matt defends. "He could get dragged to court if someone finds out he's using company funds or resources for personal use, in worst case scenario."

Howard scoffs, "If he loved his mother, he wouldn't care about that."

"Hey, back off," Peter snaps. "He's been a mess for the past two weeks. He refuses to eat and doesn't sleep. He came as soon as he could but traffic was a bitch."

"And to top that all off, he brought his friends like this is some party," Howard says, voice dripping with disgust.

"We wanted to come as support," Jessica says. "It's got nothing to do with Tony."

"Support? What, he's got no backbone? Drink yourself to oblivion?" Howard asks. "Then again, I suppose with your alcoholic habits, you would --"

Before anyone can react, Peter's fist collides with Howard's face. Howard tries to get his bearings when he lands on the floor and Peter exhales, saying, "I told you to back off, jackass."

"Holy shit. You hit Tony's dad," Val says, amazed. "I've been wanting to do that for a long time."

Peter turns to Tony and says, "I told you I would do that for you. Come on, I'll get you some water, yeah?" He puts an arm around Tony and leads him away.

Jessica kneels down and lifts Howard up, saying, "I understand your wife passed away two weeks ago. So maybe if you could make this day about her and not about bothering your grieving son, then I will leave you alone or you could keep bothering him and I can do what Peter did, thrice as hard. Got it?" Howard nods and Jessica releases him, walking away to catch up with the others.

* * *

"Tony, I came as soon as I could," Rhodey says, coming over to hug Tony. Rhodey had applied for leave so he could attend the funeral. Tony returns the hug and Rhodey says, "I'm so sorry."

"Thanks," Tony says, pulling away.

"Listen, I need to go handle something else, the army won't let me go fully. But if you need me, don't hesitate to call me over, okay? I'm all yours when you call," Rhodey promises. Tony lets him go and Rhodey leaves, on a call with a superior of his.

With Rhodey gone, there's the group in the living room. Tony isn't ready to see Maria's body in the casket yet, so they all agreed to go later in the day, an hour before he has to give his eulogy. Carol, Matt and Thor sit with Tony on the couch while Jessica and Peter stand and Val brings Tony a glass of water. When he downs it, he hears a familiar voice say, "Master Stark, welcome home."

"Jarvis," Tony says, looking up at his old butler. "It's been so long."

Jarvis smiles, though it's sad. He says, "I hope your days with Mrs Stark were enjoyable."

"They were," Tony says. "I just wish I knew this would happen... I would have spent more time with her."

"Alas, we only have what we have. She lives on in the memories we have," Jarvis says in an attempt to comfort him in his regret. "I'm hesitant to ask, but are you ready for your eulogy later?"

Tony freezes up and Carol holds his arm, as if physically keeping him grounded. Tony had been pushing the eulogy to the back of his mind. It felt too much like a permanent goodbye, like she's truly gone. It was weird, because he knew she was gone. From the moment Thor told him at the stairs, he knew she was gone. But a speech to talk about how much he loved her...

Jarvis backtracks and says, "I apologise. I'll give you some time... Please let me know if you need anything. I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Jarvis," Tony says faintly. Jarvis leaves to tend to other attendees and when he's gone, Tony requests, "Peter, can you come with me?"

Peter instantly nods, "Anything you need."

> "I brought him to the room my mother's casket was in. There was a couple there but they left when I went in. She was the room she spent the most time in in the house. Her white piano was there."

"I thought you didn't want to see her until before the eulogy," Peter says, unable to pull his eyes away from the casket. "Should I get the others?"

"No. I just want you here," Tony says.

Peter asks, "Why? I thought you would get Carol or Thor, they've known Maria longer."

"I asked you here because... Peter, can you sing for her?" Tony asks. Peter blinks in surprise, not expecting the request.

He nods slowly, asking, "Any song you have in mind?"

"You choose."

Peter nods again, making his way over to the piano. He spends a minute tracing the keys, trying to remember what chords to do before he starts playing the opening notes. He says, "I think you would like this. It kind of reminds me of your mom too. _Simple Man_, Lynyrd Skynyrd."

"_Mama told me when I was young, 'Come sit beside me, my only son. And listen closely to what I say. And if you do this, it'll help you some sunny day'_," Peter sings. Tony sits down next to Peter on the piano seat and listens to him sing. "_Oh, take your time, don't live too fast. Troubles will come and they will pass. You'll find a woman, yeah, you'll find love. And don't forget, son. There is someone up above_."

"_And be a simple kind of man. Oh, be something you love and understand. Baby, be a simple kind of man. Oh, won't you do this for me son, if you can?_" Peter sings, his voice and the piano the only sounds in the room. "_Forget your lust for the rich man's gold. All that you need is in your soul. And you can do this, oh baby, if you try. All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied._"

As Peter sings the chorus, Tony feels a tear roll down his cheek. He remembered every time Maria comforted him; When Howard hits him, when he has a bad day, whenever he got his heart broken. Every time he needed her, she always came through.

"_Boy, don't you worry. You'll find yourself. Follow your heart, lord, and nothing else. And you can do this, baby, if you try. All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied and be a simple kind of man. Oh, be something you love and understand. Baby, be a simple kind of man. Oh, won't you do this for me, son, if you can?_" Peter finishes off the song and puts his arms around Tony, embracing him tightly as Tony sobs.

"Thank you," Tony barely says. Peter just holds him, rocking him slightly as Tony cries.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Thor asks.

"I'll never be," Tony answers. After Peter played piano for Maria, he helped Tony recollect himself and it's almost time for the eulogy.

Rhodey offers, "I can go up with you, if you need me."

Tony replies, "I'll call you if I need you. I'll just try to do this myself." Rhodey nods hesitantly, patting him on the back before he goes to his seat with Jessica, Matt, Thor, Peter, Carol and Val. Tony gets up on the podium; Howard had already gone for his turn. Tony wasn't around for it. Jarvis is going after Tony as the family butler, and then anyone else who had something to say.

He clears his throat, taps the microphone once. It's so quiet he can hear his heart in his ears. He unfolds the paper he brought with him -- he worked on the eulogy for hours every day. Maria is right behind him.

"So first off, thanks for being here today. It means a lot," Tony starts. "I'm Tony -- _Anthony_, Maria's son. My mom was..."

He chokes up and tries to push down the lump in his throat. _Why is he already messing up?_ He can see his friends look like they're about to walk over. He holds up a hand to keep them where they are.

He tries again, "My mom was my..."

He coughs in an attempt not to break down, so he can just get this eulogy over with. It's the least he could do for Maria. _Of all the times to screw up, it had to be now? Damn it, Tony._

"My mom was my best..." Tony cracks, weeping. "I'm sorry. Please give me... give me a minute? Thanks." He runs off the podium and out of the room. He can hear his friends coming, but he just needed to get out of there.

He stops outside and just screams. He knows it doesn't help anything, doesn't make him feel any better, but he just needed to let some of it out. His friends come out from the house and slow to a stop a few feet away from him. Val says, "Tony, talk to us."

"I'm sorry I ran out, but I couldn't handle it. I... I miss her so much," Tony says painfully.

Matt suggests, "You still have that voicemail of hers that you've been avoiding listening to, right?"

Tony takes out his phone and his thumb hovers over the play button over Maria's last voicemail. Thor says encouragingly, "No matter what she says in it, it's still just a little bit of her that you get to keep."

Tony nods and finally presses 'play' on the voicemail that had been too hard to listen to after the news of her passing. They all stand in silence to listen to what she had to say, but it's only static. After a full minute of static, Tony sighs shakily. The others can't tell if it's out of disappointment, grief or anger.

"My mom was my _hero_. And she was my teacher… and she was my best friend. She always came through for me… and now she's just gone. And what am I left with?" Tony holds up his phone, the muffled noise still playing. Peter looks down, knowing more than anyone how Tony feels.

Tony looks up at the sky, upset as he says, "Thanks a lot, God. Thank you! You took my mom, the greatest woman that I have ever known, and you took her off this Earth way too young! But I got this _static_. Thanks so much for the voicemail. It's a great comfort. Whenever I start to feel lonely or sad or, you know what, maybe a little bit cheated, at least I have the sound of her _pocket_ to console me!"

"Tony..." Matt says quietly.

"How is this _fair_? An entire human life, and it just ends for no reason, and what am I left with?" Tony asks. The six of them stand silently, the only sound around them coming from the muffled voicemail. Nobody knew what to say to make Tony feel better.

"_Anthony_?"

Everyone suddenly looks up from the ground. Tony's eyes snap right to his phone as Maria's voice says, "_Oh dear, I've been calling you for five minutes. How's my pocket sound?_" She laughs as Tony stares at the phone, unbelieving that there's really a message. "_Oh, sorry about that, honey. I'm in the cab on the way to the airport right now. Anyway, sleep well and have a good day tomorrow, sweetheart. I love you. Goodbye._"

"She pulled through one last time," Thor says, sad smile on his face. Tony can't even summon the heart to reply, stunned from the last message.

Peter is the first to move forward, bringing Tony into his embrace. When Peter's arms fold around him, something at the back of Tony's mind reminds him that Peter knows exactly how he feels, and he returns the hug. One by one, each of them walked forward and joined the hug.

They stand there, together. And for the first time since the news broke, Tony felt like he could make it through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	34. 8x1: Neurology 101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony hires an intern and gives a talk at a university.

> "2005 was pretty awful for me, so I was excited to get it over with. Eventually, we got to 2006. By then, Jessica had an intern at Alias Investigations, a high schooler who helped her with one of her cases who wanted to intern for free out of interest. Matt and Jennifer's business was going great and so was Matt's relationship with Frank. Jessica and Oscar were still going strong. Val got a couple more clients and was pretty booked. Asgard's business kept increasing and Peter's career was steadily rising. 2006 was pretty good so far, and I wanted to take advantage of the good vibes we all had. In August of last year, my mother died on her way to the airport to go home and I attended her funeral. After that, I thought of how I could possibly honour her. Thor suggested something he remembered she talked about years ago that I agreed would be really nice to do in her name."

* * *

**FEBRUARY, 2006**

* * *

"You did it?" Carol asks when Peter, Thor and Tony come downstairs into MacLaren's.

Tony nods, sitting down across from her with Peter and Thor. He says, "The Maria Foundation has been up for a month now and the application cut-off date was last week."

> "I started this program at Stark Industries called the Maria Foundation, where I funded select students' education. They had to have exceptional grades and be in a not-so-exceptional financial situation. It was something my mother suggested to me years ago that I decided to carry out now."

"Any kids you've picked out so far?" Matt asks.

"Well, there's a few, but this one kid just seems really incredible," Tony answers. "His application said he lives down in Queens with his aunt. He's part of the decathlon team and he's very gifted in science class. On paper, he seems like a really good kid. I haven't met him yet, but I'd like to."

Thor says, "Meet him then."

"I will."

> "I wanted to meet him and give him an internship at my company. I sent him an email asking him to come meet me at my office building, Stark Industries HQ."

Peter Parker walks into the Stark Industries building, nervously checking his reflection in a glass door. He hadn't expected an email from Tony Stark himself asking him. He's been a big fan of Tony's for years. Although his father, Howard Stark, was the one who ran Stark Industries until 2001, Tony was still well-known and Peter liked him a lot.

"Hi, excuse me, sorry," Peter says nervously to the clerk. When he raises his head, looking at him quizzically, Peter stutters, "I'm... here to see Mr Stark."

"Tony Stark?" the clerk clarifies.

"Yeah, him," Peter nods, cursing his awkwardness inwardly. The clerk raises a finger at him, telling him to give him a moment, and looks away to call Tony's office. He peers over the desk to look behind Peter and hangs up, pointing. Peter turns around and his eyes widen in surprise.

Tony smiles amiably, calling out, "Hey, you're the Parker kid, right? Queens."

"Yeah, that's me," Peter replies, walking over to him. "I was asking for you."

Tony opens up his arms in a 'here I am' manner and starts making his way to the elevator, gesturing for Peter to follow him. He says, "First off, don't call me Mr Stark. That's my dad. Call me Tony."

"Okay, Mr St-- _Tony_. Okay, Tony," Peter corrects.

"Secondly, your application's pretty good," Tony says, stepping into the elevator. The doors close once they're both in and Tony hits the button for the highest floor, to his office. "Tell me about yourself."

Peter rambles, trying to say anything he thinks can help his application, "Um, I'm on the decathlon team at school. They say I'm their top player. I have perfect grades --"

"No, not about your school life. I know all about it, it's in your application," Tony cuts him off. "Tell me about _yourself_. What do you like, who are your friends, you know. I want to know _you_."

"Well... I have a best friend, Ned. He comes over sometimes to build Legos," Peter says, a little unsure. "We really like Star Wars."

"Hey, so do me and my friends. We marathon all the movies every year," Tony grins, walking out of the elevator to his office with Peter following him. "You ever dress up as the characters for Halloween?"

Peter says, "My aunt May made me this Luke Skywalker costume and she bought me and Ned Comic Con tickets for my birthday. It was awesome." He follows Tony into his office and continues, "Mr S-- Tony, I just wanted to say thank you for meeting me. You're like, one of my idols. It's an honour to be here talking to you."

"Thank _you_, kid," Tony says. "Seriously. I think you're literally better than some of the employees I've got here. You're good in chemistry, right? How good are you with engineering?"

"Pretty good. I mean, I've still got a lot to learn, but I think I'm good," Peter says. "Why?"

"Rocket, come in here," Tony says into the receiver of the office phone. A man with styled brown hair walks into the office, gaze falling onto the teenager.

"Did you need anything?" Rocket asks.

Tony replies, "The lab doesn't, so I wanted to ask if the workshop has any room for an intern."

Peter stares wide-eyed at Tony, barely believing his ears. Rocket scrolls through his phone for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, we've got room. Why?"

Tony cocks his head in Peter's direction and says, "The kid will be joining you in the workshop."

It's Rocket's turn to be surprised as he questions, "Can he do it? He seems pretty young."

"Yeah, but he's a bright kid. His Maria Foundation application is top tier," Tony says. "You can show him the ropes. If you want to." The last part is directed at Peter, who nods vigorously.

"I would love that, Mr Stark. Oh my God, Ned's gonna freak," Peter says excitedly. He pauses and looks to Rocket, saying, "I hope you don't mind."

Rocket shakes his head, "No, man. If Stark trusts you to do a good job in his workshop then I've got no problem. He's the boss here. You'll have to stick with me, though. My workshop, my rules."

Peter nods again, "Of course, yes. I'll do anything you need me to do. Mr Stark, this is amazing. Thank you so much for this. When can I start?"

"Someone's excited," Rocket comments, grinning slightly.

Tony replies, "You can come in whenever you want to. I'll pay you by the hour. Is $20 an hour good for you?"

Peter is practically speechless at this point, saying, "Mr Stark, I can't accept that..."

Tony looks at Rocket who says, "We know someone like you, won't take money. Even got the same name, actually. But listen, kid. Chance like this comes up, you gotta take it. This is a good opportunity. Interning at literally the best company in the field? Set for life, man. Plus the work you'll be doing here at your age? I'd say $20 is fitting."

Tony nods and asks, "So, should I log you in as Stark Industries' first intern?"

Peter finally agrees, face red with excitement, "Yes. Thank you so much, Mr Stark. Aunt May's gonna be so happy, wow. Thank you."

> "I wanted to get in a favour with this really good New York university so when asked, I agreed to give a talk on nanotechnology there. I wanted that favour so I could cash it in when Parker wanted to go to university, so I would have some pull. I know he was bright enough to go, but it was in case he couldn't afford it. Anyway, I went to the university to give my talk. One of the most embarrassing things to happen to me."

* * *

**MARCH, 2006**

* * *

Tony walks into room 616 and sets his bag down on the desk. He watches as the students filter in and he gets nervous, anxiety kicking in. Maybe it was a bad idea... What if he screws this up for Parker? Once everyone is seated and he's prepared, he introduces, "Hey, I'm Tony Stark, from Stark Industries. I was asked here to give a talk about nanotech, so let's just dive right in." He sees a familiar-looking blonde woman shake his head at him and he ignores it, starting his lecture.

It's about fifteen minutes in when a woman walks into the room. She frowns in confusion at Tony and asks, "Sorry, who are you?"

Tony mirrors her frown and replies, "Tony, I was invited to give a lecture on nanotech..."

The woman walks down the stairs to him at the table and says quietly between them, "Hi, my name's Susan Storm, this is actually my class. Neurology 101. Nanotech would be for Engineering 101, which is 676, not 616. I think you're in the wrong classroom."

Tony runs a hand over his face, feeling his cheeks heat up under his palm. He says, "Holy shit. I'm really sorry about this. This is so embarrassing."

Susan puts her suitcase down on the table, smiling, "You don't work here, so don't worry about not knowing your way around. Though, I think you should get going. 676 is just the next block over."

"Thanks, Susan. Sorry again," Tony says quickly, taking his things and running across campus to the correct classroom. _The things he was already doing for this kid..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	35. 8x2: Move Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony re-meets someone. Multiple people, actually. And helps Peter with a girl.

> "Kids, you remember the wrong classroom story. I thought it was Engineering 101, but it was Neurology 101 that was in room 616. I was supposed to be in room 676."

* * *

**APRIL, 2006**

* * *

"It's been a month, You're still embarrassed about it?" Carol asks, barely holding back a grin.

"Of course I am. Holy shit," Tony groans.

Matt laughs, saying, "Come on. It's not that bad. I'm sure they don't even remember that it happened anymore. Plus, you don't work there, so it's fine."

"Go talk to that girl over there, get your mind off that class," Val suggests. "And get your mind off you-know-who."

He did know who -- Peter Quill. Yes, by now, everyone was over it. Hell, Tony himself was over it. He hated that he kept going back and making the same mistake with him. But he couldn't help how he felt. He hated that his brain thinks that as long as there isn't a ring on Peter's finger, Tony will always have a chance. Tony decides he has to start somewhere with moving on and nods, walking over to the blonde woman at the bar.

He says, "Hey, my name's Tony. What's yours?" She turns around and they both look surprised. He asks, "Wait, I know you."

"Halloween! You were Darth Vader and I was Christine Daaé from Phantom of the Opera," she says. "Christine Palmer."

"Oh, yeah! Hi," Tony remembers, sitting down. "I can't believe I got to see you again, wow. How've you been?"

"I'm starting at university with my best friend," she answers. "I actually attended your talk on nanotech."

"Oh, really?" Tony perks up. "How did I do?"

Christine nods approvingly, a smile on her face, "Really well. The only thing I wanna comment on is that you were in the wrong classroom. Whatever room you were supposed to be in, it's not 616."

Tony buries his face in his hands, muttering, "_Crap_."

Christine laughs, patting his back, "You did really good though, promise. You gave a great quarter-lecture. Almost tempted me and my friend to quit neurology and join engineering."

"Well, glad to hear you at least liked it even if it was... the wrong lecture," Tony says.

"Why're you here?" Christine asks. "I'm unwinding after this really hard test today. You?"

Tony uses his thumb to point back at Matt, Carol and Val, saying, "My friends and I come here whenever we're free to hang out. I live upstairs."

"Oh, that's nice," Christine replies. "Why are you with me at the bar when your friends are in the booth?"

"To be honest with you, they said I should come talk to you to take my mind off my eternal shame but of course, as my luck would have it, you were in that lecture," Tony says.

Christine laughs again and says, "Then talk to me."

> "I did talk to her, and after an hour of talking, I asked her out on a date and she said yes. She became my girlfriend after and it was going considerably well. She wasn't at the level to come with me to MacLaren's yet, though. That was her own decision, she wasn't sure if she was ready to meet my friends yet. In retrospect, a good decision on her part. Christine is a smart woman. Meanwhile, I had to meet up with Jessica because one of my clients at Stark Industries wanted to hire a P.I. and I referred him to her."

Jessica walks into the Stark Industries building, her intern in tow. She'd met her while she was investigating a teacher at a high school; the mother of a student had hired her to prove he was a creep after he said something questionable to her son. The teenager came up to her car and offered her some valuable information for her case in exchange for Jessica agreeing to hire her as an intern. The girl even said she was happy to do it unpaid -- she just thought Jessica had a cool job and wanted to see how she, a professional, did it.

"Why are we here?" MJ asks, looking around. "Are we investigating the CEO or something?"

"No, we're meeting the CEO so he can refer me to a client that will definitely pay my rent for the next five months," Jessica answers. "Be nice. The CEO's a good friend of mine."

"Sure," MJ nods. They stand around the lounge for a few minutes until Tony appears with a teenage boy, Peter Parker. MJ raises an eyebrow -- a son, nephew? A misleadingly-young-looking employee?

Tony hugs Jessica hello and introduces, "This is an intern of mine, Peter Parker. This is?"

"Michelle Jones," MJ replies. "But you can call me MJ. I'd prefer it."

Peter stares at MJ, almost mystified, before he snaps out of it, saying, "Hi, MJ. I feel like I know you."

MJ notes, "We both go to Midtown High."

"Oh God, yeah. I remember now, I saw you in the hallways once," Peter says, smacking his forehead like he's a fool. MJ frowns at him and Jessica rolls her eyes; _teenage drama_.

"Well, we can leave our interns here to catch up on schoolwork and I'll bring you up to meet the client," Tony says to Jessica. He nods to MJ, "Pleasure meeting you, Jones." As he and Jessica walk away, MJ and Peter can hear him chuckling, "You're both called Jones." Jessica punches his arm.

Peter turns red slightly -- he'd seen MJ around a few more times than he'd admitted. He actually had kind of a crush on her. She's a really pretty girl and the few times he'd heard her speak, Peter liked her voice and hard-hitting sarcasm. Now that she's here in front of him and he has his chance to talk to her, he didn't know how to talk.

"How's the internship?" MJ asks, starting the conversation for him.

"Good. Super good. Mr Stark and Mr Rocket are really cool," Peter says. "What about you?"

"Cool," MJ replies. "We solved a case about that creep teacher at our school."

Peter nods, recalling, "No wonder he got fired. Huh."

> "The two continued to talk until your aunt Jessica and I came back down to the lounge. By the time we returned, they were laughing and having fun, showing each other funny videos and telling jokes. When Parker and I were heading back up to the workshop, I talked to him and he admitted that --"

"I have a crush on MJ," Peter says. "Please don't tell her."

"Tell her? I'll do better than that. I'll help set you up," Tony says. "You've been doing great work with Rocket, so why not help you out?"

Peter bites his lower lip in thought before he finally nods, asking, "What do you have in mind?"

"Do you know anything she's interested in?"

* * *

Tony brings Peter into a small obscure shop that sold exactly what he thought of when Peter told him about MJ. Since he didn't know the teenager personally, Tony wasn't sure if she would like it, so he brought Peter to check it out. He'll know if she'll like it.

"Mr Stark, what are we here for? Doesn't look like they sell components here," Peter says, looking around the store.

Tony speaks in Italian to the shop owner who ducks behind the counter, taking out a small black box and passing it to him. Tony thanks him and passes the box to Peter, saying, "Take a look."

Peter opens the box and takes out the necklace inside. He says, in awe, "The Black Dahlia."

"You said she liked investigating murders, I thought of that. Not sure if she would like it so I didn't buy it to surprise you, decided to bring you here to check. You think she'll like it?" Tony asks.

Peter nods, running his thumb over the design, "She would. She loves the Black Dahlia murders. Mr Stark, thanks for showing me this. How much is this..." He flips the box over and instantly turns it back around, eyes wide in dread. He says, "Mr Stark, I can't afford this."

"I can," Tony says. "That's why I'm showing it to you. It's on me, okay? To thank you for being an incredible intern and for putting that Maria Foundation money to good use."

Peter hugs him, saying, "Thank you, Mr Stark. This means a lot to me."

"No worries," Tony says, passing his credit card to the shop owner. "Do you think your chances with her are good?"

Peter nods, half-confident, "Yeah. I think she likes me too. I mean, I obviously can't and won't speak for her, but I think I have a chance."

"Why do you like her?"

"She's just really smart and witty. She's sarcastic in that 'wow, she's so cool' kind of way. And she just knows so much about history and science and everything. I feel like I learn something new every time I'm with her. She just... makes me really happy," Peter rambles. Tony lets the words run through his head. He felt...

He didn't feel like that about Christine at all. She was smart and funny, but Tony had to admit that they shared different senses of humour and, while they were interested in each other's different fields of Science, they both did get somewhat tired of hearing about it so much. Tony felt like he was just hanging out with a friend rather than a girlfriend.

"Thank you for your purchase," the shop owner says, returning the credit card as he helps Peter pack the necklace neatly back into the box. "Enjoy your necklace."

* * *

"So, this is your place," Tony says, walking into Christine's apartment as she lets him in. It isn't far from the university, unfortunately for Tony who just desperately wants to move on from that awful memory.

Christine nods, smiling, "Yep. My roommate's out right now. I think she's with some friends, partying."

"Nice, hope she has fun," Tony says. He picks up a book and opens it, revealing the lightsaber bookmark inside. He smiles, "Hey, didn't know you were a Star Wars fan. I mean, I know you recognised me as Darth Vader but you said you didn't watch the movies. I --"

"Oh, that's not mine," Christine clarifies. "My friend visited and left it."

Tony nods, putting it back down, "Okay... You should watch Star Wars, though. It’s awesome."

"Maybe," Christine says half-heartedly.

Tony's attention falls onto a CD and he raises it enthusiastically, "AC/DC? I love them!"

Christine makes a shameful expression, "That's... my friend's too."

"Oh," Tony mutters, placing it on the coffee table.

"I can't believe it. An entire apartment full of my things and you point out the only two things that aren't mine. Not even my _roommate's_," Christine says. "I've been trying to find a common thread between us but it's time I stop lying to myself and admit it. We don't have _anything_ in common."

"Sorry," Tony says awkwardly. It's an awkward situation, but it also highlighted his biggest concern about their relationship; they got along well, but they had _nothing in common_.

"Get out," she says flatly. Tony nods, quickly leaving. Anything to get out of there.

* * *

Tony stops at a traffic light as he waits for it to turn green so he can cross the road. He feels rain begin to fall on him and he curses inwardly as he realises he left his jacket at Christine's apartment. No way she'll let him go back and reclaim it. He sighs and lifts a hand over his eyes, hoping that he can get home before the rain gets too heavy.

> "There are a lot of little reasons why the big things in our lives happen. That's why I had to stand on that side of the road while it was raining. That's why I forgot my umbrella. That's why someone offered me his."

An umbrella comes up over his head. Surprised, Tony turns around to see who tapped his shoulder, and it's none other than Steve Rogers.

Steve says softly, "Hello, Tony."

Tony forces a smile and replies, "Rogers."

* * *

The two of them find themselves in a small coffee shop. Steve ordered red velvet cake for Tony, remembering that he liked it. The cake only reminded Tony of Peter which made him feel slightly worse about the situation he's currently in. He wonders if he should have run off when he had the chance to.

"So," Steve begins. "I want to say I'm sorry."

"Oh, you are?" Tony replies sarcastically. He hadn't meant to sound so bitter, it had just come out like that. Though, in retrospect, Steve probably deserved it.

"I shouldn't have left you at the altar," Steve apologises. "Especially since I --"

"Since you were the one who asked me to marry you, yeah," Tony cuts him off. "No, you shouldn't have. But, fuck's sake... That was two years ago. I've had bigger problems before and bigger problems since. You..." He clenches his fist under the table, as if trying to hold back some less-than-polite words. He says, "You are just... this painful prick in my life. I can't believe you kicked Matt off the wedding and went ahead to invite your own ex."

"It was Nat's idea, I told her I didn't think Peggy would come. I sent it just for the sake of sending one," Steve explains.

Tony shoots back, "I don't want your excuses. Didn't think she would come? I don't know, Rogers. When someone sends you a invite, you usually attend or let them know if you can't."

"Why do you keep calling me Rogers?" Steve asks, looking slightly hurt.

"Because I don't even want to be on a first name basis with you," Tony says. "You left me at the altar after asking me to marry you and after your mom rushed our wedding and after you kicked out my ex when yours appeared unannounced. You don't get to call me Tony. Call me childish or whatever. I'm upset."

"I'm sorry, Tony. I really am," Steve says.

"Well, guess what? It's too late," Tony replies. "What, you want my forgiveness? I spent a long time trying to come back from the shame and pain from what you did. So don't you even _think_ I have to forgive you for doing that to me. I've got nothing for you."

Steve presses his lips together and nods slowly, "I get it, Tony. I hurt you and I'm so, so sorry. I know no amount of apologies will ever make up for what I did to you. It's unforgivable, but when I saw you at the traffic light, I knew I wouldn't be able to walk away without at least apologising."

"Was it worth it?"

"Was what worth it?" Steve questions.

"Running off with Carter," Tony clarified, trying his best to keep any emotion off his face.

Steve replies hesitantly, "We have a daughter... Sharon."

"Congrats. Hope you're happy," Tony says, standing.

Steve holds out a hand to stop him, asking, "What about you?"

"Well, let's see. I got hit by a car, then I got rejected by the love of my life for the second time before you did that to me, my girlfriend broke up with me because I was in love with someone else, my mom died last August and I have to watch my best friend kiss the guy I love and act like I'm happy about it. I'm doing _fantastic_," Tony says bitterly. "But hey, glad that life's fucking great for you."

"Tony, if there is anything I can do for you... I'll do it. I'm so sorry," Steve says.

> "You may think your only choices are to swallow your anger or throw it in someone’s face, but there’s a third option."

"Forget it... It happened," Tony says. He's said what he had to say. There's nothing he wanted from Steve and nothing he wanted to do. "Go home to your family."

> "You can just let it go, and only when you do that is it really gone and you can move forward."

With that, Tony leaves the coffee shop, leaving Steve alone with the uneaten red velvet cake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	36. 8x3: The Quill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor has a question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very Thor-centric chapter.

> "Kids, in the July of 2006, your uncles Thor and Peter had been dating for a little over a year since dating from May, 2005. Thor was determined to not mess it up."

* * *

**JULY, 2006**

* * *

Thor walks into the tech shop and heads straight for the music player section.

> "Thor had been staying up late to work on some logistics for Asgard and was listening to Peter's Walkman, until the sound got distorted and even after he spent an hour recoiling the tape, it was still slow. He panicked and went to the nearest tech shop in hopes of finding something to get it fixed."

When his search comes up empty, he looks around to find help, spotting a man with black hair in the charger aisle. He walks over, asking, "Sorry, are you good with tech?" 

"I'm alright," the man answers. "Can I help you?"

"My boyfriend's Walkman won't play his cassettes properly. He doesn't know yet, because I borrowed it to listen earlier and realised it's kind of broken. It's slow and distorted... I want to get it fixed without him knowing. It's just that I don't know the first thing about a Walkman," Thor explains.

The man replies, taking the Walkman from Thor to look it over, "I do, I used to have one when I was a kid. It looks fine to me... Maybe it's just getting old. This is literally the first generation of a Walkman. Impressive, by the way."

Thor sighs, "No, it's worked fine his whole life. His mom has had it since it first came out." The man must be wondering why he didn't just buy him a new one.

"Then why not just buy him a new one?" the man questions, voicing Thor's thoughts. "Just tell him it's come of age and get a new one. If he wants this exact model, they're not gonna be cheap since it's so old, but you can do that, right?"

"No," Thor replies, frustrated. "It has to be _this_ one."

The man looks Thor up and down and says a little irritated, "Bit inflexible of you... It's just a Walkman."

Thor quickly explains, "Sorry if I sounded uncooperative or anything. It's just that this is one of the last gifts his mother ever gave to him."

The man's eyes widen and he apologises, "I'm sorry. If I'd known, I wouldn't have said that."

"No, maybe I should have explained at first," Thor says. "My name is Thor, by the way."

"Stephen," the man replies. "Um, well... Why don't you try changing the battery? Maybe it's getting low on power."

Thor gets the back off and looks at the batteries, "I've never been in this shop before, do you know where the batteries are?"

"Yeah, I'll take you to them," Stephen offers. Thor thanks him and the two walk through the shelves to get to the batteries. He observes, "He means a lot to you if you're doing this for him."

"Are you kidding? Peter is my whole world," Thor grins, already getting excited to go home, back to his bed with Peter. "I love him more than anything."

"It must be nice to love someone so much," Stephen replies, stopping in front of the batteries.

As Thor sifts through the different batteries, checking it against the ones in the Walkman, he replies, "It's nice, but also stressful."

"Stressful like?"

"Stressful like you're scared that anything you say is going to ruin it. Not because you don't trust them to love you, but because you just don't know if you really deserve someone like that," Thor elaborates. "Sometimes I just worry that I'm not gonna be good enough for him."

"You're in a tech shop at 3 in the morning because his Walkman ran out of battery. I'm sure you're more than good enough for him," Stephen assures. "Is this relationship new? I can't think of any reason why you would be this stressed out about it."

Thor pauses before he admits, "Yeah, we started dating just last year. And maybe a year is quite long to other people, but it feels like days because... He's just so special to me and every minute with him doesn't feel like a minute at all." Thor takes the batteries and says after a moment of thought, "I think I'm going to marry him."

Stephen laughs, "Maybe wait another year or two before talking about that."

Thor shakes his head, "I mean, it's not like I'm going to ask him tomorrow or anything. It just feels right, you know, when I imagine him being the guy I end up marrying someday."

"Don't we all feel that way in a relationship, though?" Stephen asks. "When you've been dating someone for a while, you always feel like they're it. Then they end up proving you wrong."

"Isn't that the beautiful thing? You never know for sure," Thor says, that kind of grin on his face like he has touched heaven and hasn't come down since. "But there's something telling me that I'm going to marry Peter Quill someday."

Stephen smiles and says, "That Peter Quill is one lucky man."

"I think that lucky man would be me," Thor corrects with a smile of his own. "Thank you for helping me out and talking with me. I'm sorry for holding you up."

"No, it's fine. I'm glad to help. Hope the batteries fix the Walkman," Stephen says.

"Goodnight, Stephen. Thank you again," Thor says.

> "And that was how your uncle Thor met your father."

"Hello, brother," Thor smiles as Loki walks into MacLaren's, sitting opposite of him. "Did you get the Walkman fixed?"

Thor nods, saying, "A guy at the shop helped me out. It's fixed."

Loki nods and asks, "Where's everyone else?"

"Carol and Val are on a date, Jess is working on a case, Matt's got a client meeting, Tony's at work and Peter's upstairs sleeping in," Thor lists. "I wanted to talk to you alone."

Loki nods slowly, "Okay, what did you do? Disclaimer, if you cheated on Peter, just know that it's _your_ ass I will beat."

"No! I would never do that," Thor splutters, bewildered by Loki's conclusion. "I just wanted to ask you something. It might sound like a weird question but I'm thinking about something and I just want to see what you think." When Loki gives him the go-ahead, Thor asks, "What do you really think about Peter?"

Loki frowns, "What... Is this a trick question? Are you expecting me to trash talk him and then he's gonna smash a cake in my face or something? Where is he hiding?"

Thor laughs, "I told you, he's sleeping upstairs. I just want your opinion. It's got nothing to do with you, I just want to know."

Loki leans into the seat, saying, "Fine. Well... I think he's good for you. Don't think I've seen you be in love with someone the way you are with him. Even that guy you dated back when we lived in Norway, Fandral. When you said you would marry him, I didn't believe you."

"That's rude," Thor chuckles. "Even though you were right."

Loki continues, "But, you know. If you were to say you would marry Peter, I'd believe you."

"If you believe me, would you also approve?" Thor asks.

"I'd be glad, actually," Loki answers. "All jokes about hating Peter aside, I would be glad if you married someone like him."

"Thanks, brother," Thor smiles.

* * *

Thor walks into the ring shop alone. He'd told Peter before he left for work at Asgard that he had to take care of business. In reality, he was looking for a ring. Specifically, an engagement ring. The talk with Stephen from the tech shop and then with Loki just confirmed the decision for him.

"Can I help you?" one of the employees asks him.

He replies, "I'm looking for an engagement ring. Any recommendations?"

The employee says, "If you tell me a bit about your partner, I could make some suggestions."

Thor says, "He doesn't wear much flashy things. He's got these really beautiful green eyes. He comes from Missouri. He loves music and space more than anything."

The employee carefully takes out a black ring and passes it to Thor, saying, "This one's really pretty and reminds me of space. See how it shines like it's the stars in space? If you don't like this one, I can get another ring for you to look at."

Thor moves the ring around in his hand, watching the way the "stars" in the solid black shimmer. It did look beautiful. He could imagine the ring on Peter's finger. Plus, it wasn't flashy or large, so he could play guitar without it getting in the way. It's perfect.

"No need. This is the one," Thor says. "How much for this ring?"

* * *

Thor opens the door and lets Tony in, closing it as soon as he's in the apartment. He asks, "Peter's still with Val?"

Tony frowns in confusion, "Yeah, she had to talk business with him. He'll be down there for a while. Why?"

"I wanted to ask you for your help on something. Maybe sit down," Thor says.

Tony scoffs, "I'm sure I don't need to sit for this. What do you need?"

"I'm going to propose to Peter," Thor says. "And I need your help."

Tony instantly sits down on the couch, processing Thor's words. _Propose to Peter?_ Tony asks in slight disbelief, "So soon?"

Thor sits down in a chair and replies. "I know one year might seem a bit early, but honestly... Since we've both been in love with each other since 2002, I think when we actually got together doesn't really matter. I've loved him for three years now."

That much is true, Tony can't even deny it. They did love each another for three years straight, no matter if they were with someone else in that time or not. Which probably isn't really a good thing, especially since Tony was that 'someone else'. But in the case of Thor and Peter themselves, Tony can't deny that their love was something else. No matter how much he didn't want to believe it.

"What do you want me to do?" Tony asks.

"Tomorrow night, I'm going to have something set up at Knowhere around 9 in the evening. I called Knowhere's manager and Tivan agreed to let me use their café for it. I just need you to bring him there, that's all," Thor says. "Will you?"

Tony nods slowly, "Yeah, yeah."

Thor smiles, but he knows Tony's 'yeah' was half-hearted. It's why he asked him to bring Peter there instead of just calling Peter to find him at Knowhere himself, or even asking one of the others to do it. He knew Tony loved Peter. Thor still felt bad about trying to kiss Peter when he was still Tony's boyfriend. He hated that he hurt his best friend that much, so he thought he owed Tony the chance to decide this for him. Maybe an almost-kiss with his then-boyfriend shouldn't be amounting to deciding if Thor's proposal would go through, but damn it, Tony is his best friend and he wronged him.

The ball is in his court now.

* * *

Tony spent the night before sleepless, staring at his ceiling in deep thought. He knew what Peter's answer would be if Thor asked him to marry him. _Yes_. Depending on Tony's choice, tomorrow will either mark the day Peter Quill becomes someone else's fiancé, or will mark the day Tony ruins Thor's proposal.

Why did Thor have to put him in the spot like this? He could have asked anyone else. His brother, his other closest friend Val. His _mom_, even. Or one of the others, Jessica, Matt and Carol. He could have called Peter to Knowhere himself. He knows Thor knows Peter would go if he asked.

_You fucking idiot_, Tony smacks his forehead. _He's obviously giving you the choice_. _He shouldn't but he is._

By the time it's the morning, the day of the proposal, Tony still doesn't know if he's going to bring Peter to Knowhere. He gets out of his room to see that Thor is out of the apartment already, but Peter is there eating pancakes. It's Pancake Tuesday. Peter gives him a bright smile, syrup on his lip, as he greets him good morning. Tells him his new assistant Happy Hogan called earlier to say he doesn't need to come into the office until 2 in the afternoon and can leave by 7, and that 'that Parker kid Rocket's mentoring' asked permission to bring his girlfriend MJ to see the workshop.

_He doesn't even know what's going to happen tonight_, Tony thinks.

"I think there's still seven pancakes left," Peter says, using his fork to point into the kitchen. "If you're not gonna take them all, can I have what's left?"

"Sure, yeah. Think I'm just taking four," Tony replies almost absently. Peter's wearing a hoodie a size too big for him -- Tony knows that hoodie. Loki bought it for Thor four years ago for his birthday. It's a grey NASA hoodie. He can see why Peter would steal that from Thor.

"Awesome," Peter says, finishing off his last pancake and heading into the kitchen to grab three more.

Tony calls out, "Hey, you wanna grab dinner with me tonight?"

Peter returns, three pancakes on his plate, and nods, "Why not? I don't need to head into Asgard today, so I'm free. What are you thinking for dinner?"

"This Italian restaurant just opened up a couple blocks down. Rocket said it's good," Tony suggests.

* * *

Work is far from peaceful. Tony thought it would get his mind off what's going to happen at 9PM but it didn't. He sat through three whole meetings thinking about it. Then his mind was off at Knowhere while he and Rocket made sure MJ and Parker didn't go completely crazy with the workshop. And now he's sitting across from Peter in the restaurant waiting for their orders.

Even the conversations they're having while eating went in one ear and out the other. He checked his watch. 8PM -- He still had time to back out. When Peter's finishing off the pasta, Tony can feel his heart in his chest. When Peter insists he pay but Tony pays for their food, when they're in the car and driving. I still have time to change my mind. I can just drive past Knowhere and go home. He would never know.

But then the mention of Thor's name snaps Tony out of his thoughts and he glances over at Peter in the passenger seat.

"-- Thor said I would burn down the kitchen, but his mom told me it was fine. So she tried to teach me how to make pasta the Odinson way," Peter talks. _Peter Odinson_. _Or Thor Quill? Peter Quill-Odinson, if they hyphenate._ "Well, as expected, I can't cook so it was a complete mess. Thank God Loki was good enough to save the pasta and make it edible."

Tony laughs, but he's aware it sounds a little plastic. Knowhere is five blocks away. Now or never, Tony. _Will Peter get engaged tonight?_

"It actually tasted pretty good, if you ignore the burnt edges on them."

_Four blocks_.

Peter laughs, "Frigga was really nice about it, though. She said she'll find an easier recipe and try again next time I visit."

_Three_. _Two_.

"Thor's bringing me back to Loki's place next week. If the pasta turns out good, I'll bring some back for you to try," Peter promises.

Tony slows the car to a stop in front of Knowhere and Peter raises an eyebrow, "Why are we here? The sign says it's closed."

"Peter... Knowing you the past four -- well, seven years, if you count the time we didn't see each other. It has been nothing short of amazing," Tony says. Peter smiles in slight confusion at Tony's random declaration.

"Same, Tony," Peter replies. "But where's this coming from?"

Tony answers, "Well, I think it's just that point of my life where I'm evaluating everything. I know our history's been a little... off, for lack of a better word. But I'm happy it's gotten us here, where I'm your friend." He hesitates -- last chance to back out.

> "Kids, if there's something I learnt in my life, it's that my ego always kept me from the most important lesson of all. It's not about me. It was like that when Peter almost moved to Los Angeles and it's like that with this. This proposal, even if Thor put the decision in my hands, it's not about me. At the end of the day, it's Thor in that café, not me. So I knew that I had to tell him that --"

"There's a surprise for you in there," Tony says, pointing into Knowhere. The glass windows and doors have been blocked up, so neither of them can see what's inside. "Go in."

"You sure? It's closed," Peter says, unsure.

"It's not closed," Tony assures. "Go, Peter."

Peter decides nothing can go wrong and gives Tony a hug, saying, "I'm happy that you're my friend too." He leaves the car, shutting it when he's out. Once Peter walks into Knowhere, Tony lays his head down on the steering wheel and sighs. He wonders if he's made a mistake. Recollecting himself, he drives away.

* * *

Peter walks into Knowhere, eyes adjusting to the darkness. All the lights are off. He opens the door to check -- Tony has already left. Suddenly, some lights come on. They're planet models, hanging off the ceiling as they glowed beautifully. There's projections of stars on the ceiling as well. It looks stunning. He looks down on the floor and sees a piece of paper. He walks over and picks it up, reading it.

> THE QUILL
> 
> **Step 1:** Admit to yourself that you are irretrievably in love with Peter.
> 
> **Step 2: **Tell Tony about your plan and ask him for his help.
> 
> **Step 3:** Wait and see if Tony brings Peter to Knowhere. If he does, it means your best friend has let go of him and has given you his blessing.
> 
> **Step 4:** Peter realises he's standing underneath Venus.

Peter looks up and he's indeed standing under a model of the planet Venus. He mumbles to himself, "What is this?" He turns around and sees Thor standing there, smiling. Peter laughs in delight, "Thor, this is _amazing_. The planets, the stars... Wow. I'm... Thank you for this."

"Turn it around," Thor says, pointing to the paper. Peter raises an eyebrow, but flips it over anyway, revealing one final sentence.

> **Step 5:** Hope he says yes.

"Thor, what --" Peter starts, processing what the sentence says. As he lifts his eyes off the page, he drops the paper in surprise, his hand coming up to his mouth. Thor is down on one knee as the velvet box in his hands opens to reveal a beautiful black ring that shimmered gorgeously.

> "The longest pause you will ever experience in your life is the one that follows asking the question --"

"Will you marry me?" Thor asks.

> "Your brain goes into overdrive, imagining every possible response. But if you're lucky, he might answer with the single greatest word in the English language..."

"Yes," Peter grins as he kneels down to bring Thor into a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	37. 8x4: Not Fair At All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor hires a wedding planner that Peter is not excited to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what? We're a year and a half away from officially meeting Stephen :)
> 
> Also! I made a Twitter account specifically for AO3, @timestcne. I can post more updates and other stuff there, plus we could talk and become friends maybe? So follow me there too, if you want.
> 
> That's all, hope you like the chapter. Thank you for sticking with me this far. 1999 to 2006, we have come a long way!

> "In July 2006, your uncle Thor proposed to Peter. They didn't tell us the news until the next month, in August. Mostly because they wanted to enjoy being the only two to know about it for a while, just like when they started dating. Only two to know other than _me_, obviously."

* * *

**AUGUST, 2006**

* * *

"Hey, is anything wrong?" Val asks, lifting herself off of Carol's side with a frown when Thor and Peter enter MacLaren's and near the booth. They're both wearing sad looks.

Thor says, "I've got something to tell you, but we don't want you to freak out."

"Oh my God. Did you break up?" Loki asks, hand touching his temples as if warding off an oncoming headache. "Tell me it's not so."

Jessica's hand places itself over her wallet and Matt leans forward slightly in anticipation. Tony sits quietly, just waiting. He knew the two men were just having their fun with suspense, but he didn't think it was very fun at all. Peter trails off, "We..."

Thor suddenly breaks into a grin, saying, "... are engaged!" Tony downs his drink as everyone else's faces (except Frank, of course) snaps straight to surprise and excitement.

Carol presses a hand to her chest and says, "You can't scare me like that! But holy crap, that's so awesome, boys. I'm so happy for you." Val gets out of the booth to bring them both into a hug and so does Loki.

"This is so great. Congratulations!" Oscar says, grinning widely. He hopes that that would be him and Jessica someday.

"Is this why you asked me if I would approve? Does Mom know yet?" Loki asks, pulling away from the hug.

"Well, yeah, it's what I asked. And she doesn't know yet. I'm telling her tonight, Peter and I are coming over for dinner," Thor informs Loki. Loki nods, shooting a text to Frigga to let her know the engaged couple was going to visit that night.

"Do you have a wedding planner yet? I might be able to find someone for you," Val offers.

Thor replies, "Yeah, I've been looking. There's this one guy who seems pretty good, so I might contact him. Thanks for offering, though."

"Hey, what about your best men?" Carol asks.

"We'll keep you posted," Peter teases, causing most of them to groan. "We're going back upstairs, we just came down to tell you guys."

"Congratulations," Frank says. Matt raises his eyebrows like the kind words are a pleasant surprise.

Once the two fiancés are gone, Jessica taps Matt's hand twice and says, "Okay, now you have to cough it up. Come on, Murdock."

Matt groans, telling Frank to take $20 out of his wallet for him. Frank passes the money to Jessica and frowns, "What the hell's that for?"

"Oh, uh..." Matt's voice grows quiet. "Do we tell them?"

"Why not? Well, this sucks to hear, but Matt and I had a $20 bet on who would marry Peter," Jessica says. "I always knew Thor was it. From the moment they met."

"Jessica!" Carol scolds. "Why would you say that?"

"How?" Tony asks, trying not to feel hurt by it. He himself knew Thor and Peter lived in their own little world, but it was hard not to take it personally when one of your best friends thought your boyfriend should have been with someone else.

"I don't want to sound like a sappy bitch, but you just _know_," Jessica answers sarcastically. "Just kidding. I'm a P.I. I read body language, it was obvious from the start that they had good chemistry. And I know it's kind of morally grey, but Matt bet me that you'd end up marrying Peter, and I bet Thor would. I _never_ lose my bets." Jessica pulls out a folded note from her leather jacket pocket which read, in Jessica's handwriting: _Jessica bets Matt that Peter marries Thor._

"_Ouch_," Val says, reading the note.

"Damn, Jess. Way to hurt me," Tony says, only slightly joking.

Jessica explains, stashing the note away, "It's nothing personal against you. You and Peter were good, but I just never thought he was _the one_ for you. No matter how great the two of you were together. There's someone else out there for you. Plus, I'm never wrong. I said in 1999 that the person you're gonna marry is going to be a man and you won't meet him in MacLaren's and I plan to win that."

> "She did. Because when I met your father, it was at a train station. A couple days later, Thor brought the wedding planner he hired to MacLaren's so he could get extra opinions. Peter was supposed to come in later."

"Guys, this is Quentin Beck," Thor introduces to Oscar, Carol and Loki.

> "Also known as the fucking devil."

"Hey," Quentin greets, beaming as he slides into the booth. Oscar gets out so Thor can sit with Quentin and he drags over an extra chair. Quentin opens up his folder and says, "Okay, we can start with the simpler parts. For one, cake. I'm gonna ask you a couple questions to at least figure out what kind of cakes we can test. Any flavours in particular you want?"

Thor answers, "I'm good with anything, but Peter loves red velvet." Quentin nods and writes it down in his folder, continuing to ask questions to narrow down cake choices. Thor answers each question and Oscar, Carol and Loki chime in every once in a while until Peter walks into MacLaren's.

> "Peter is rarely scared. Surprised, shocked, yes. But _scared_? The only time anyone has seen him be scared was when his mother got diagnosed and was dying. This is the one other time anyone has seen him scared."

Peter almost chokes on the drink he's sipping on when he walks in. He goes over to the booth and returns everyone's greeting. Quentin smiles, "Peter, hi."

"Hey," Peter replies curtly. "Why are you here?"

"Quentin's our wedding planner, I hired him two days ago," Thor explains. "He's helping us with cake right now."

"That's great. Babe, can I talk to you in private?" Peter asks. Thor nods and follows Peter to the bar. Once they're out of earshot, Peter hisses, "You green-lighted _that guy_? Out of all wedding planners in New York City?"

"What's wrong?" Thor asks, confused with his reaction. "He seems really nice."

"He's my ex from art school," Peter says, pained expression on his face. "You remember, the one I told you about from Visual Effects. He dumped me because I was poor and couldn't pay for dates and gifts. And he was also kind of a dick."

Thor's face pales slightly at the realisation and he asks, "I'm sorry. I should have checked. Do you want me to fire him right now? I'll do it if he makes you uncomfortable."

Peter waves dismissively, "Never mind, he's already here, we'll just make this work. Why is he a wedding planner though? I thought he was a --"

"Visual effects technician?" Quentin cuts in. Peter and Thor jump in surprise, not expecting him to be there when he was at the booth a moment ago. "Yeah, I still am. But it's not like I'm overflowing with work, so I took this up as a little side gig. It's pretty fun."

"Look, Quentin. Whatever history we had, it's in the past. I trust Thor's judgement so I'm going to assume you're good at what you do. So please just do that," Peter pleads.

Quentin nods, gesturing for him to calm down, "Relax, Petey. I'll be good."

"I doubt that somehow," Peter mutters under his breath.

> "He was right."

"I'll see you guys tomorrow to plan a little more," Quentin says. "I need to get back to set for this TV show. Bye."

"Goodbye," Oscar says politely. Once Quentin is gone, he says, "I don't trust that guy."

Peter snorts, "Not as much as me."

"What is your history with him?" Carol asks, concerned.

Peter explains, "Well, I dated him in art school. We met at an orientation program and became friends because we were both into the Star Wars movies. He told me how they did all the special effects and I told him how the soundtracks were done. We slept together and started dating. Which was fine, but then time went by and he became an asshole. Like I would cancel on dates because I needed to watch Mantis or if my..." He trails off -- His mother was still a sore spot for him. "... was sick. Or if I just needed to work. It got kinda verbally abusive, I guess. And he was upset because my financial status kept dropping to the point I couldn't afford to buy him presents or pay for dates. He broke up with me before I dropped out, which was three weeks before I met Tony at Knowhere."

"That's awful," Carol frowns. "Maybe you should fire him..."

Peter shakes his head, "He actually, surprisingly enough, did pretty good planning today. Unless he does something, the wedding's more important. We'll fire him if he pulls any shit."

"If he tries anything, I'll beat him senseless," Loki mutters.

"I think Matt and Frank would do a better job at that," Oscar jokes.

Thor turns to Peter with remorse on his face, "Peter, it's really fine if you want to fire him. I don't care how good he is at wedding planning. If he makes you uncomfortable, I'll fire him immediately."

Peter smiles, pressing a kiss to Thor's lips before saying, "I'm okay. I think he might have changed his ways."

> "Kids, I taught you this since you were younger, and I'll say it again. Never ever speak too soon."

"Hey, Thor. Nice shirt," Quentin says when he comes into MacLaren's the next day. Thor is about to thank him for the compliment when Quentin adds, "I bought you that for your birthday when you were with me, didn't I, Peter? Amongst other presents."

Peter presses his lips together, wishing he could take back the words he'd said yesterday about Quentin changing his ways since 1999. Thor says, obviously unsettled, "Okay, can we just get to the planning?"

"Sure, sure," Quentin says, sitting next to Tony across from Thor and Peter. Loki's sitting on an extra chair pulled over. "So yesterday we did cake. I'll let you guys know when cake tasting will be ready. For now, we can do the next easiest thing. Theme of the wedding. What are we thinking?"

"Space," Thor answers, shooting Peter a bright smile. "It's the way I proposed, and I think it's be cute to carry that over."

Loki fake-gags, "You two are so cheesy." He recovers and says seriously, "But space would be a pretty cool wedding theme, though. I can already see it."

"It would look pretty nice," Tony says unenthusiastically.

Quentin cuts in, "Hm, space is good, but what about films? Imagine, a wedding party with your favourite movies as the theme. Awesome, right? What are your favourites?" Before anyone could even answer, Quentin continues, looking at Peter, "You know what mine are."

Peter replies insincerely, "Kind of forgot, man. Sorry."

Quentin fills in, "While the movie played, we used to fu--"

"Hey_, hey_," Peter interrupts, clearly unhappy. "_Shut up_. That's in the _past_." Thor lets out a deep exhalation -- maybe he should have fired Quentin the moment Peter told him who he was. Loki glares at Quentin silently.

Quentin raises his hands in surrender, "Okay, Peter. Past doesn't mean never happened, though. Anyway..."

> "His taunting went on for the next hour. I won't torture you with it, but it consisted mostly of Quentin trying to remind Thor that he and Peter used to date and Peter cutting him off before he could get into detail. By the time he left, Thor and Peter didn't know what to say."

"I'm gonna go make up my setlist for tonight," Peter says. Though the tone is light, Loki and Thor both knew him well enough to hear the angry undertones of it.

“I’ll come with you,” Tony says, following Peter.

He leaves MacLaren's and Thor mutters, "That was horrible."

"Peter did warn you to fire him," Loki points out flatly. "What were you thinking, hiring his ex?"

"I don't know what I was thinking!" Thor says. "I didn't know he was his ex. Then I offered to fire him and Peter said he thinks he's changed but obviously he hasn't!" He groans, running a hand through his hair in lament, "And everything he said... I feel awful."

Loki presses his lips together as he asks, "Do you think he was trying to break you up?"

Thor raises his gaze to Loki, "Do _you_ think he was?"

"I could see it," Loki says. "He literally spent the whole session today reminiscing about his happy times in Peter's bed. I doubt he would be doing that if he was trying to help you achieve the perfect wedding."

"Fuck," Thor mutters, burying his face in his hands. "_Fuck_."

"I'll handle it," Loki promises. "Give me a few hours."

* * *

"Hey Loki. Thor's out right now --"

"Okay, listen. I know you and Thor's friendship isn't exactly perfect, and this thing you have for Peter isn't helping," Loki cuts in, walking into the apartment. Tony blinks in surprise, not expecting the confrontation. Loki continues, "You may be my friend, but Thor is my brother so I'm sorry, but I have to say this. Facts are facts; You're not marrying Peter, my brother is. And I know about the proposal thing, Thor told me. And I know you well enough to know you might have thought of not taking Peter to Knowhere and sabotaging Thor's proposal." Tony's mouth is dry -- he hadn't thought anyone would think that. He didn't know how he felt about that. Loki says, "So I'm giving you a chance to make it up to Thor."

"What do you want me to do?" Tony asks. He felt like he should apologise for even thinking of ruining the proposal. Even though Thor was the one to place the decision in his hands, he shouldn't have acted like that meant anything. It wasn't his proposal, he shouldn't have even thought about deciding.

"Beck's trying to ruin the wedding. Make up for trying to ruin the proposal," Loki says. "Come up with an excuse to get him kicked off and get them a good planner."

Tony sits down and runs a hand over his face, replying, "I'll do it."

> "And I did. I'm not proud of it, but I found Quentin at his workplace, took him aside and kind of shouted at him. Part of it was me being angry that he would try to destroy such a happy couple, and part of it was me being angry at myself for the same reason. I took it out on him and fired him, then I went to my office and hired a new wedding planner for Thor and Peter. I called Peter to let him know."

"Hey, buddy," Tony says once Peter picks up the phone. "Just to let you know, Beck's out of your hair now. I hired a new planner for you."

Peter's voice is confused as he asks, "Why?"

"Because he's obviously being a complete dickhead," Tony answers. "I know you didn't want him around from the start either. So he's gone. Your new planner's meeting you at MacLaren's tomorrow, 2PM. Her name's Clea, I told her to sit at our usual booth."

Peter replies, "Thank you, Tony. I really thought he might have changed but I guess he's still hell-bent on ruining my life."

"Well, at least he can't now," Tony says. "I gotta go. See you tomorrow?"

"I'm leaving for Missouri tonight," Peter informs him. "I'll see you Thursday afternoon."

Tony nods, "Okay. Safe trip, Peter."

"Thanks. Tell Rocky and Little Peter I said hi."

With that, Peter hangs up and Tony sighs. Now that a real wedding planner is in place, with cake tasting scheduled and afterparty theme selected, it's really hitting him now that Peter is going to be a married man in next year. _Shit_.

* * *

"Hey, Thor," Tony greets as he comes home. He looks around, asking, "Peter left already?"

"Mhmm," Thor replies, flicking listlessly through television channels. "He'll be back Thursday. Oh, he told me you got us a new planner. Thanks for that. I liked him at the start but then he got... you know."

"Yeah," Tony says. "I sent you Clea's resumé earlier on. Did you get it?"

Thor nods, opening up his laptop, "Yep. Her weddings look amazing. I'm sure she can do a good job with ours. She seems to work fast too."

Tony frowns, "Why would her working fast have to do with you? I thought you wanted your wedding next July."

Thor says, "After the whole thing with Quentin, we both decided before he left that we wanted to get married as soon as possible, so we're trying to get a wedding date in December. Preferably Christmas, but it's a little bit like... wishful thinking. It's such a cliché wedding date. It's gonna be impossible to nail a Christmas wedding."

Tony feels something in his chest that he isn't sure he likes. Christmas?

"So soon?" Tony finds himself mirroring the same question he asked when Thor told him he was going to propose to Peter.

Thor furrows his eyebrows in confusion, "I mean, it's not that soon. It's August right now. December's still some time down..."

"This year, though?" Tony says. "I just thought it would be a little longer. You don't want to rush the planning, do you?"

Thor narrows his eyes at him before he asks, "This isn't about the planning."

"What are you talking about?" Tony asks, playing dumb.

"You broke up _four years ago_!" Thor snaps.

"Well, _yeah_, but watching Peter marry another man wasn't exactly something I was looking forward to," Tony defends.

Thor sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as he thinks of how exactly he's supposed to respond. He settles on a quiet, "Then why did you let me propose to him? I literally told you about it so you could decide if the proposal would happen or not."

"Because as much as I didn't want to believe it, you belonged with him more than I ever did!" Tony says.

Thor stares at him for a moment, wondering what to do, before he says, "Carol said this once, and maybe I should make it clear. I gave you the choice because I felt bad about trying to kiss Peter at the Halloween party. You had your chance to screw me over but you didn't, so I'm not going to go crazy about this. But Carol said that I shouldn't let someone else dictate my relationship and I'm telling you right now; I'm not going to put my wedding on hold for you. You're my best friend and I love you, but I am not postponing Peter. Not anymore. I'm sorry."

"_I'm_ sorry," Tony says. "I'm a shitty friend. You were really honest with me about the whole Halloween thing, so I guess I should say that I did have a thought about not bringing Peter to Knowhere."

"What changed your mind?" Thor asks, trying not to judge Tony before knowing everything.

"You... Because you love him so much and you're my best friend," Tony answers. "And because Peter's the best person I have ever known and I don't have the right to keep him from who he wants to be happy with. Because it's not fair... not fair at all."

Thor sighs again -- What kind of situations does he always find himself in? He says, "Well, whatever. You brought him to Knowhere, the proposal happened and you hired us a good wedding planner. Thanks. Goodnight." He pauses, adding, "Loki and Val are my best men, if you were wondering."

Thor goes to his and Peter's shared room and shuts the door, locking it behind him. _I'm not his best man... But I guess I expected that. He wasn't mine either at my wedding._ Tony sits down on the couch, looks at the ridiculous rom-com playing on the television. Turns it off and sits in the silence. Prays to his mother that the year doesn't get any worse. And then he falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	38. 8x5: Me Likey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wedding planning has wrapped up and Tony attends Peter's bachelor party.

> "Kids, in August, I helped your uncles Thor and Peter fire their original wedding planner Quentin Beck, who was Peter's most toxic ex ever. I got them a new one, Clea, who was amazing and did a good job planning for them. They also pushed up their wedding date from July 2007 to December 2006, so they finished their planning by October."

* * *

**OCTOBER, 2006**

* * *

"Hi!" Clea greets, smiling warmly as she slides into the booth next to Val, across from Peter and Thor. She pushes the wedding folder across the table to the couple. "So I'll just cut to the chase. So, good news. I just got you two booked for Christmas at this beautiful place down in Missouri! Say goodbye to that ugly December 13 date in New Jersey."

"That's so awesome. Thank you," Peter says. "Missouri's perfect."

"I know! You're from Missouri, as I remembered. I thought you would like that," Clea says. "We're almost done; Settled the cake and ordered, wedding and reception theme, guest list, venue, photographer and videographer, caterer and menu, band, music and decor. Invites were sent out last month and seats have been confirmed. Your suits are bought and tailored, you've met the officiant, rehearsal's in September. So the band is coming over later today for the setlist you've chosen. You've already gotten your wedding rings and planned your honeymoon to Italy."

> "Italy was my idea. I helped pay for the trip because I just felt really bad."

Clea continues listing off, "You've basically touched base with everything. You just need to get your suits refitted, in case you might have grown or gotten thinner. You don't want a suit that doesn't fit. You also have marriage license and bachelor parties left, plus confirming your schedules and assign the seating. I'll come find you guys again on the week of the wedding to settle the last things; Reconfirm arrival times with vendors, pick up your suits, check in with photographer, set aside the payment for the vendors. Also sending the finalised guest list to the caterer and the venue. Plus, packing for your honeymoon. After that, we should be ready for you two to get hitched."

"Thank you so much for doing all this," Thor says. "I don't think we would have even half of that done by now if it weren't for you."

Clea grins, "It's no problem! You two are such a good couple. I am so happy to be able to plan this for you."

Val shakes her hands excitedly, "I can't wait for this wedding! Holy crap, I'm so happy you two are getting married. You have no idea. I can't believe it's in just two months."

"Hope you've organised the bachelor party for Thor," Clea says to Val, laughing.

"Loki and I stayed up all night to plan it," Val assures. "You'll love it, Thor."

"I'll love whatever party you plan for me," Thor grins. "What about you, Star-Lord?"

Peter smiles slightly at the name; his mother called him that all the time when she was alive. The name stung the first time he heard it from someone else's voice after her passing, but the years passed and Peter didn't hurt so much anymore. He loved when Thor called him that. He replies, "Well, Jessica and Rocket said they tried their best, so I don't have my hopes up."

Clea laughs again, "I'm sure they're not that awful."

"You would be surprised," Peter jokes.

Clea looks at her phone and says, "Sorry, I need to go. My friends are having lunch and I was invited. Came by to drop off the folder. If you have anything to ask, don't hesitate to call me, okay? I'll see you in December."

"Thanks again, Clea," Thor says, the three waving goodbye as Clea leaves MacLaren's. Thor asks, smiling, "So who's coming to my bachelor party?" 

Val clears her throat dramatically as she reads off the attendees of her phone, "Me, Loki, Jane, Carol, Matt and Frank. I invited Darcy, but she's busy and can't come."

"Aw, that sucks," Thor says. "But the rest of the list sounds good."

Val replies, "If you want someone else there too, please let me and Loki know. We'll invite them."

"No, I'm fine with the list," Thor says. He turns to Peter, asking, "Do you know who's invited to your bachelor party?"

Peter tries to recall the names Jessica listed to him two days ago and says, "Rocket, Jess, Oscar, Carol, Tony, Sam and Bucky."

"Have fun on your party, babe," Thor says, kissing Peter's cheek. Peter laughs and turns the whole way so he can turn it to a real kiss.

Val uses her hands to block the view, fake-gagging, "Gross, you guys. Get a room." She chuckles, shaking her head, "But I'm seriously so happy. I have been on this constant high since you two announced your engagement. Now we're here, just two months away."

"Two months until he's my husband," Thor says.

Peter kisses his cheek and stands, saying, "I gotta go. See you at home, and I'll see you tomorrow, Val." They wave goodbye and Peter leaves MacLaren's.

> "At work, I wasn't free from wedding planning. Especially since Peter's best man was my employee."

"Come on, can you please invite me to Mr Quill's bachelor party?" Peter Parker pleads.

Rocket groans, holding out his hand for a screwdriver. Peter passes it to him and Rocket says, "No. You're a damn kid, Parker. I'm not bringing a kid to an all-adult party where there's alcohol."

"There's alcohol?" Peter asks.

"Yes, and you're literally 8. No," Rocket denies once more.

"I'm 17," Peter pouts.

Tony cuts in, "No's no, Peter. You're not coming to the party."

"Can I at least go say congratulations?" Peter asks.

"You already said congratulations," Rocket points out.

Peter shrugs, "I can say it again. I'm invited to the wedding, right?"

Tony nods, "You and MJ, as long as your aunt comes along to chaperone."

"Awesome," Peter grins, jumping over to the worktable to continue working on a component Rocket asked him for. Rocket rolls up his sleeves and runs a hand through his dark hair, walking over to Tony.

"Is he panicking yet?" Rocket asks.

"Not yet," Tony answers. "But you know Peter. He doesn't panic until there isn't time to panic."

"True," Rocket nods. "Just a reminder, his party's this Saturday."

"I know, I know," Tony says, watching the teenager excitedly look for a bunch of bolts.

> "When I came home, I saw two familiar faces in our living room."

"Sam and Bucky!" Tony greets. "It's been so long!"

"Man, good to see you again," Sam says, hugging Tony hello. As Bucky goes in for his own hug, Sam continues, "Hey, I did have something I wanted to ask you about. I just didn't know how to start a call about it."

"Is this about cancelling you on my wedding?" Tony asks.

Bucky nods as he breaks up their hug, saying, "Yeah, you hired us but then we get an email saying we've been let go. What was up with that? I mean, we don't mind, but we're just wondering why you cancelled on us. We wanted to do the set for free."

"I know, I really wanted you there," Tony says. "My ex-fiancé didn't want you guys to play because he dated you."

Bucky's eyes widen, "So the Steve in the email was Steve _Rogers_?"

Sam sighs, "Him again?"

Bucky frowns, "What happened with him? _Ex_-fiancé?"

"He left me at the altar for his ex," Tony says. "I'm over it."

"I'm sorry that happened, man. Must suck," Sam says, patting his back comfortingly.

Tony shakes his head, "No, it's cool. Promise. Anyway, Thor and Peter should be home anytime now. They said they would close up Asgard early." At that moment, Thor and Peter come in, laughing about something one of them said. From the looks of them, it's kind of obvious they were making out on the way up to the apartment. From the red in their cheeks, it's clear they're a little tipsy.

"I thought you were at work," Tony says, raising an eyebrow.

"Carol closed Asgard for the night and took us drinking," Thor explains, smiling like an idiot. "But we came home before we could drink too much."

Peter separates himself from Thor and heads into their room, coming back out with a sheet of paper. He passes it to Bucky and says, "These are the songs I picked out. Can you learn 'em in time? I can pick other songs if ya can't."

"No, these are fine," Bucky says, reading over the list. "You've got some beautiful songs here. Luckily for you, Sam and I know most of these. We can learn the ones we don't know just in time for the wedding."

"Awesome," Peter slurs, laughing. "Thanks, man. You da best."

Sam chuckles, "You da best, too. Congrats again, you two."

"Thanks, Sammy," Thor says. "I'm gonna go crash now."

He walks over to Peter, putting his arm around his fiancé's shoulder and pulling them both to their room. Sam points at the closed door and asks, "They're gonna bang, aren't they?"

"Yep," Tony mutters. "Let's go downstairs, yeah?"

> "So we went downstairs, caught up with each other.

Once they've all sat down, Tony finally notices the rings on their fingers. He trails off, "Are you..."

Sam and Bucky break into smiles and Bucky answers, "Yeah, two years ago. Sorry we didn't invite you, we just wanted to keep the ceremony small. Our families and like three closest friends."

"Congratulations," Tony replies. "About time."

"Ain't it?" Sam chuckles, putting an arm around Bucky. "This asshole steals the blanket when we sleep and I always wake up cold."

Bucky shoves him jokingly, "Shut up, Wilson."

"Sorry about your wedding, though. Really," Sam says, bringing the conversation back to what it was before Peter and Thor came home. "You don't deserve that. Nobody does."

"It's alright, okay? I got to yell at him about it. It's fine," Tony says. "But I'm more surprised that Bucky dated him before. When was that?"

"Back when I still lived in Brooklyn, when I was like 14, 15? We were friends since childhood because we were neighbours. He asked me out and I said yes, but two years later, we decided our lives were getting too different. He wanted to become a cop, I wanted to do music. He didn't believe music was a sustainable thing, kind of put out the idea of moving in together so he could help me out. I wasn't really happy about that so I broke it off, took all the money I had and moved to New York," Bucky explains. "And then the day I finished moving in, I went to a bar and what are the odds? Sam was there too. A month later, we started The Winter Soldiers and the rest is history."

Tony smiles, "That's cute. And now look where you are."

"A bar under our client's apartment at 8 in the evening, with this cheap ass alcohol and a friend with us talking about how we met," Sam says, laughing. "Wouldn't wanna be anywhere else right now."

> "Now, you know I was invited to Peter's bachelor party. Mantis and Nebula were invited too but couldn't make it because they had some business to settle in London. Rocket and Jessica planned a number of things that day; drinks, dinner at a restaurant, Las Vegas, Karaoke competition, strip club. Which Thor approved of, by the way. I would tell you about Thor's bachelor party, but I wasn't there and even now, I still don't have all the details about it. Just know they had a lot of fun."

"Drinks! Give it," Peter says, getting into the party bus Rocket rented while they were in Las Vegas. They had a dinner in New York before going to Vegas (which Tony paid for).

"Ugh, this place gives me bad memories," Rocket says, passing Peter a bottle and grabbing one for himself. "But can't deny it's fun as hell."

Jessica gives Peter another bottle before he's even done with half of his current one and says, "Night's gonna be a load more fun if you're shit-faced. Drink up, Quill." She gives Tony a non-alcoholic drink and passes out more bottles to Carol, Sam and Bucky. Oscar had opted to not get drunk either, mostly because he was going to be home late and didn't want to be drunk when he picked Vido up from his ex-wife.

"Thanks for bringing us along," Bucky smiles.

Peter replies, "No problem, dude. You're doing my wedding music for free. Least we could do is invite you to one of our bachelor parties."

"Driver, take us to the casino," Rocket says, tapping the partition in the bus. Before Peter can say anything, Rocket says, "Relax, I have a bunch of money Jess and I pooled together. We're spending that and that only. If we lose it, then who cares? It's not a big amount, just a couple thousand. If we hit it big, then awesome. Okay?"

"Okay," Peter relents. He admits, "I've never been to a casino."

"Oh, you'll love it," Sam assures. "We'll keep you away from the slot machines, though. They'll eat you up and we are not letting that happen to you."

> "By the time we reached Vegas, Peter was already halfway there to getting black out drunk because he drank so much on the bus."

"Woah, be careful," Rocket says, making sure Peter gets off the bus without just slipping down the steps. Carol laughs at the sight as Jessica sighs.

"I shouldn't have given him so much to drink," Jessica says. "Well, too late now. On to the casino."

"You said fuck Peter rights," Bucky jokes. "I don't know if I did that right. I saw it on the Internet."

Carol pats Bucky's back and says, "You'll get it someday. Let's go to the casino!"

> "I don't want you guys to get a gambling habit so I'm skipping over our casino trip. But just FYI, because I see your faces, I know you want to know. We won $10,000 on black, which Peter absolutely lost his shit over because, come on, it's $10,000. We went to do karaoke afterwards and we had high hopes for it because Peter's completely shit-faced after the casino."

Peter goes up on stage with Rocket pulled along and picks out a song, saying, "Hi guys, my name is Han Solo and this is my buddy Chewie. We're gonna sing this super awesome song by Blue Swede."

"My name is _not_ Chewie, screw you," Rocket mumbles.

"_I can't stop this feelin' deep inside'a me. Boy, he just don't realise what he do to me_," Peter sings drunkenly, messing up the lyrics. Tony knows he knows the lyrics, but he knows it's only wrong because his fiancé's on his mind. "_When ya hold me in your arms s'tight. You lemme know e'rrythin's a'ight. I... I'm hooked on a feelin'! I'm high on believin' that you're in love w' me!_"

"Thor's gonna love this," Carol grins, recording the karaoke, where it has Rocket trying to get off-stage but keeps getting pulled back by Peter.

"_Lips as sweet as candy, its taste is on my mind. Boy, ya got me thirsty for another cup'a wine!_" Peter slurs over.

Rocket decides that since he's not getting out of this anytime soon, he joins in. He follows Peter's gay rendition of the song and changes the 'girl' to 'boy' as he sings along, "Got a bug from you, boy. But I don't need no cure. I'll just stay a victim if I can for sure."

"_All the good love when we're all alone. Keep it up, boy. Yeah, you turn me on!_" Peter sings the last line a little over-enthusiastically and Rocket groans, though he joins him in the chorus, "_I'm hooked on a feeling! I'm high on believing that you're in love with me!_"

Tony shakes his head, "Someone stop this man. This is a mistake."

Jessica snorts, kicking her feet up onto the table, "You kidding me? The best thing I've seen all year."

"Should we maybe take that away from him?" Oscar asks, pointing to Peter taking a bottle from the bartender as he continues singing the song, Rocket following him around the karaoke bar to keep an eye on him.

"Nah, let the man enjoy it. The hangover tomorrow will teach him a lesson," Sam laughs, high-fiving Bucky's raised hand.

> "After another hour of us all doing karaoke -- well, except Jessica, who refused to sing -- we went for our final destination around 2 in the morning. A strip club."

"Why the blindfold?" Peter asks, tugging effortlessly at the black cloth over his eyes. "Where are ya takin' me?"

"You'll see," Carol laughs before she hiccups -- she had quite a bit to drink too. Oscar helps her as Jessica opens the door for them and Bucky sits Peter down in the room they'd booked there.

"You did ask Thor if this was okay, right?" Oscar asks Jessica and Rocket.

Rocket nods, "Yeah, I told him we were gonna take him to a strip club and he said it's fine as long as Peter doesn't bang anyone. Which he won't, so we're gonna be cool. Nothing to worry about."

"Come in!" Jessica calls out, removing Peter's blindfold. A male and female stripper come into the room and Peter's eyebrows fly up.

"Ooh, me _likey_," he says, grinning tipsily as the strippers put on a show. Jessica gives him some money to give to the stripper and they all cheer him on. Tony almost thinks that Peter's so drunk that he's forgotten he's engaged when he laughs after the male stripper tosses his pants at his face and says, "Thanks, sexy." Tony's thoughts are dashed completely when the woman leans in close and Peter shoots backward into the cushioned seats, saying, "No, no, no. I gotta husband a'home, I can't."

"Nothing to worry about," Rocket echoes his words from earlier, this time with relief.

After the show ends, they're all back in New York by 7 in the morning. Tony and Rocket take the shit-faced soon-to-be-married man back to the apartment. Thor comes out of the room tiredly, woken up by the noise, but smiles as soon as he realises who it is.

"Welcome home," Thor says. He carries over the half-asleep Peter from Tony and Rocket, saying, "I'll take him from here. Thanks. I take it the party was awesome?"

"Of course," Rocket says. "Carol's got a video of him doing drunk karaoke, she'll send it to you later. Your man's going to be on a bender when he wakes up, so just a warning."

"Thanks again," Thor says.

Peter blinks slowly and looks up to see Thor carrying him. He smiles lazily, a hand touching Thor's face, "Me likey. Me likey a lot."

"Still drunk, I guess," Tony says.

"Go sleep, you guys," Rocket says. "Tony, I'll see you at work?"

"Yeah. Go home. Thanks for doing the party for him," Tony nods. Rocket waves goodbye and leaves the apartment. Tony and Thor look at each other, a sleeping Peter in the latter's arms, and Tony breaks the silence by saying, "He's yours."

He goes back to his room before Thor can say anything to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	39. 8x6: Second Greatest Love Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding day of Thor Odinson and Peter Quill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Next chapter's kicking off 2007 and Tony and Stephen meet in 2008 :) And we have 8 chapters left to complete the story! Holy crap, can't believe I made it this far. Thanks for reading <3

> "On Christmas of 2008, it was your uncle Thor and uncle Peter's wedding day. Everyone was in a little bit of a panic. Val and Loki because they were trying to make sure, as Thor's best men, that everything went perfectly. Jessica because she was on the late train to Missouri and might not make it. Matt because his wedding gift hadn't arrived on time and he was trying to find something. Me, because... damn it, it was Peter."

* * *

**DECEMBER, 2006**

* * *

"Mr Quill! Mr Odinson! Congrats!" Parker shouts excitedly from across the inn's lobby. Aunt May shushes him and MJ grins, and she voices her own congratulations.

"Thanks, kids," Peter says, smiling gratefully.

May introduces, shaking Thor's hand, "I'm May Parker, Peter's aunt. Congratulations! We got you this as the wedding gift, that new coffee machine model."

"Oh, you didn't have to..." Thor says. "I know your family isn't the best in terms of financial status, you really didn't have to get us anything."

"We wanted to get this for you," May smiles. "Well, I'll take these two teenagers to our rooms. I'll see you two again at the altar."

Thor nods, waving to the three as they made their way to the elevator. Peter looks over to see Loki walking over. He's already in his outfit for the ceremony later on. Peter asks, "Have you seen Jessica?"

Loki frowns, saying, "That's why I came down to find you. She just texted me to say she's on a late train here because, you know, it's Christmas. It was hard to get a ticket."

"Oh, man," Peter mutters. "It's okay, she'll be here in time. She has to be."

"She will, babe. Okay?" Thor comforts. "She's your best friend, she'll make it in time."

Loki nods in agreement and says, "Okay, can you two go get properly dressed now? Darcy wants to do makeup on you for the photos."

"I'm not gonna look like a drag queen, am I?" Thor asks. "Although... Maybe I'll look super beautiful."

"You always look beautiful but I just want us to look like _ourselves_ for our photos, please," Peter says.

Loki clarifies, "She's just going to cover blemishes, make your cheekbones and jawlines look a little sharper. Basic stuff. She'll be ready for you by 2. Can you be at her room by then?" The two men nod and Loki claps his hands together once in conclusion and says, "Good. Listen, I don't know if that superstition applies to gay couples, but Darcy doesn't want you guys to see each other before the wedding so she's doing your makeup at different times. Thor at 2, Peter at 2:30."

"But... We're gonna see each other for the wedding photos..." Thor trails off, frowning.

Loki shrugs, "Her instructions. Photos are at 3. I don't know if Jessica can arrive by then."

"Shit," Peter laments. "I'm gonna go call her."

> "Before Peter called her, Jessica was on the late train to Missouri."

Jessica takes an available seat in the train and sighs. _I can't believe I'm gonna be late_. _Peter is so gonna kill me._ She rummages through her bag before sighing in irritation, looking around. She skipped breakfast to try and get a train on time but she was still unsuccessful. She should have listened when Oscar told her to book a ticket earlier. He couldn't even be late with her because he and Vido had to spend Christmas with his family. When she doesn't find what she's looking for, she turns to a black-haired man behind her and asks, "Unlikely, but is there a food car on this train? I skipped breakfast and I regret it."

He smiles and shakes his head, "No food car, but I have some sandwiches. I hope you like ham and cheese."

"I love ham and cheese," Jessica replies, moving to the seat next to him as the man takes out his lunch box. After he gives her one of his sandwiches, she introduces, "Thanks for the sandwich. I'm Jessica."

"Stephen," he replies. Jessica narrows her eyes at him.

"Didn't I see you somewhere before?" she asks. "You look familiar but I can't put my finger on it."

Stephen replies, "We met at a clinic, in 2003."

"Oh shit, yeah. You had a cold," Jessica says, remembering. When Tony had gotten sick and she took him to a clinic, where she talked to a Stephen Strange in the waiting room.

"What a small world," Stephen smiles. "Are you late for something?"

"A wedding," Jessica sighs once more, taking a bite of the sandwich. "My two friends are finally getting married after years of dancing around their relationship and now I'm going to be late."

"I'm sure you'll make it in time for the ceremony," Stephen says. "Years of dancing around?"

Jessica snorts, taking another sandwich that Stephen offers to her, "They spent so long just being idiots in love and never did anything about it. Wrong times, wrong places, I guess. But they're getting married today, so good for them. What about you?"

"Late for Christmas at my friend's place," Stephen answers. "We rented a little place in Missouri for the Christmas weekend and he made me promise not to be late. Sorry, Wong."

Jessica smirks, saying, "Well, Christmas is Christmas no matter the time."

"You're right about that," Stephen agrees. "Who are your friends getting married?"

"Peter and Thor," Jessica answers. "Wanna make it better? I'm Peter's best man, and I'm late for the wedding."

"_Oh no_," Stephen says sarcastically. Jessica laughs, deciding that she already likes Stephen.

> "That was how your aunt Jessica met your father for the second time."

"Tony, you have to help me," Matt says, pulling Tony aside.

"What? Are you okay?" he asks, looking him over. He turns to Frank, "What's wrong?"

"His wedding present hasn't arrived yet," Frank explains. "He ordered it two months ago and it was supposed to arrive last week. He thought it would come by yesterday, but we're in Missouri right now and he has no gift."

Tony pats him comfortingly and says, "We have time to go into town and get something. What'd you get off the registry?"

Matt frowns, "It was these expensive bedsheets. Frank described them to be a dark blue-black covered in constellations. I thought they would love it. I have no idea why it took so long to get delivered, it's God damn bedsheets."

"I'm sure there's a shop nearby that has something similar. We can go check out the shops, find something," Tony offers.

"Thanks, Tony," Matt says, walking off with Tony and Frank.

> "We went to the nearest bed store to find space themed bedsheets."

"Okay, the lady's finding something. Relax," Frank says. "Even if you don't have anything, I doubt they'll care."

"Yeah, they'll understand. You could just give them the bedsheets when they arrive," Tony says. "It's all good."

Matt replies, "I just don't want to show up without a present."

The woman walks back to them, holding two different bedsheet packages, "So we've got two. One's navy blue with star speckles, the other's got planets but they're less realistic."

"Navy blue one," Matt answers. "Thank you. How much?" She tells him the price and Matt gives her his credit card to pay for it. He turns to Frank and asks, "Can I talk to Tony alone?" Frank shrugs and walks off to the cashier, taking the package from her. Once Frank is gone, Matt asks, "How's today going?"

Tony sighs, "I don't know, Matt. It's -- You... you just never really know how to act when you're at the wedding of the guy you love and it's not _your_ wedding too. He's someone else's husband by the end of today."

Matt replies, "Just know that nothing changes. You will find someone, Tony. I'm sure of it. My dad used to tell me --"

"Is this gonna be a religious thing? Because you know I'm not really big on that," Tony asks.

Matt half-smiles, "My dad wasn't too big on it either. He used to tell me everything happens for a reason. No matter if you believe it's the work of a higher being, fate or destiny, or simply just life. I don't think of this wedding as the end of your story... I think of it as the start to something beautiful. We don't always know where we're heading. I don't think you expected to end up here when you decided to fall in love and settle down in 1999."

> "I didn't expect to, he was right. When I made that choice in 1999, I thought I would be married, maybe even tending to my first kid by 2006. Yet, here I was. No romantic partners, my love unrequited and my best friend marrying said unrequited love. We don't end up where we think we will most of the time."

Matt continues, "But it's okay to not know, Tony. You don't need to push your life into the direction you think it needs to go in. Sometimes, you just have to have a little faith and let the steering wheel go."

"Drop the first domino," Tony mumbles, catching Matt's drift.

"And the rest will fall in line," Matt finishes, smiling. "Let's go back to the wedding."

* * *

"Peter!" Mantis squeals, bringing Peter into a tight hug. Peter hugs back, grinning. She says, "I can't believe I'm here right now. You're getting married!"

"I'm getting married!" Peter echoes, laughing in joy.

"Congratulations," Nebula says. She pauses, looking Peter up and down awkwardly. He'd gotten dressed in his wedding tux and was waiting for Thor to be done with makeup so he could have his turn with Darcy when Mantis and Nebula came up to him. She compliments, even more awkwardly than the way she looked at him, "You look... handsome?"

Mantis smiles, patting Nebula's arm, "I'm teaching her to be nice."

Peter says encouragingly, "She's coming along nicely."

Nebula glares at him warningly, "Don't push it, Quill."

"I'd never," he says. "Is your sister here?"

"Yes. She said she wouldn't miss the wedding for anything," Nebula answers, pointing across the venue. "There she is."

Peter walks over to the dark-haired woman and says, "Hey, Gamora. It's nice that you made it."

"Peter, hi," Gamora turns around, greeting him with a hug. "Congratulations. I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you," Peter says. "So how's life been since we last saw each other?"

"I'm dating this guy, Richard Rider. He's amazing," Gamora answers. "And I know you're finally with the guy of your dreams. You deserve this."

"Thanks," Peter repeats.

> "He's not the only one to meet an ex. After he was done with makeup, Thor ran into a guest."

"Bruce, holy shit," Thor says, surprised. Bruce smiles warmly at him, looking around at the half-finished set-up. "You came."

"Of course I did. I know we didn't drop off on the best terms, but this is huge. Shit, you're getting married," Bruce says. "That's incredible, Thor. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Thor says. "What about you?"

Bruce waves dismissively, "Focussing on my career more than my love life these days. I think I like my life better like that."

"That's good," Thor nods. There's a silence between them, both trying to figure out what exactly to say, until Thor says, "I'm sorry about everything between us. I don't really know when or why we started arguing so much but I'm sorry about all of that."

"Me too," Bruce says. "Can we just be friends again?"

"I'd love that," Thor smiles, bringing Bruce into a hug.

> "While Thor was repairing his friendship with Bruce, I was with Peter in his room. This was after we'd taken all the photos, by the way. No, your aunt Jessica didn't make it in time for the photos, but we paid this really good Photoshop artist to edit her in. Anyway..."

"Peter?"

"Out here!" Peter calls out from the balcony. Tony joins Peter at the balcony of his room, taking the empty chair next to his.

He asks, "Are you nervous?"

"Yeah. of course. But it's the good kind," Peter replies. "I spent weeks working on these vows. Have no idea if they're any good, but I practiced with Mantis on FaceTime and with Rocket, and they both think it's great."

Tony nods, looking out at the view. He asks, though it comes out sounding more like a statement, "We've come a long way from 1999, haven't we?"

"We sure did," Peter smiles. "It's crazy, right? 1999, I would never have thought I would still be here by 2006."

Tony asks, "How much has it changed?" He knows how much his life has changed. He knows Peter was in such a depressive state that he didn't even want to be alive, and now he was excited and getting married in a few hours. He just wanted to hear it from Peter.

> "And then Peter proceeded to tell me the second greatest love story ever told.
> 
> He told me all about how he dropped out of Missouri high school for his family's move to New York and enrolled in Music at art school. Then he got dumped by Quentin Beck from Visual Effects because he didn't have money, and the sadness from being almost-bankrupt led him to the free Heroes for Hire show nearby where he met Jessica. He dropped out of art school to pay for Mantis' school fees and took on the Knowhere job for more money.
> 
> The Knowhere job introduced him to me and Jessica, and he'd helped Thor name his café Asgard. His hectic work schedule slowly took him apart and he met Rocket at a San Francisco bar when he went there to unwind. Because he befriended him, Peter stayed up late to help Rocket with a project which caused him to get fired from Knowhere for sleeping on the job. Rocket then got him a gig as the Winter Soldiers' roadie to make it up to him. That led to him meeting Gamora Zehoberei and getting dumped not long after, and once again became unemployed when the Winter Soldiers' tour ended.
> 
> Then, while on the way home from Knowhere in an attempt to get his old job back, Peter got into a car accident. Jessica saw him on the news and instantly offered him a job as her secretary the moment he was in working condition and that took him to MacLaren's at 2:43AM to run into me again, on Halloween night. Then he was introduced to Val and hired her as his agent and he dated me. He ran into Gamora again and she told him to get checked out. He got diagnosed with depression. Then his mom died and he ran away to Missouri, signed himself up for therapy. Then he came back and caught Thor before he could fall, which was kind of poetic, looking back on it now.
> 
> He got a new job at a popular nightclub Valhalla and became Loki's singing teacher. Spending all that time with Thor and Loki made him realise he has always been in love with Thor. Then he got his heart broken when Thor announced that he was dating T'Challa. When Thor invited Peter to move in and hired him at his café that he'd named back when they hadn't even met, and he almost moved to Los Angeles to run away from his feelings for Thor until I begged him to come home.
> 
> And that made Peter go home and confess his love to Thor as he got drenched in the rain. They started dating, and suddenly everything was okay. Suddenly all the hours of sleep he'd lost didn't matter. The months he'd spent in hospital, the rash decision to move to Los Angeles. Every second of his life that was shrouded in pain no longer mattered because Thor was there now.
> 
> By the time Peter got to the end of his story, I knew --"

"You belong with him," Tony says. "Seven years ago, I made an ass of myself chasing after you and I've made an ass of myself chasing after you a bunch of times since then. So as a leading expert in the field of making an ass of yourself for you... You belong with him."

Peter gives him a smile; _Sadness for him? Relief that he's moved on? Gratitude for his understanding?_ Tony can't tell what kind of smile it's meant to be, but Peter only says, "I know."

> "A wedding isn't really a wedding if you don't freak out a little."

"I made it! Holy shit, I made it," Jessica says, coming through the doors of Peter's room. "I'm so sorry."

"Thank God you're here. Totally freaking out now," Peter says. "I was fine hours ago but now that the wedding's an hour away, I'm freaking out."

"Okay, relax. You got this. That's the love of your life. Your boyfriend's gonna be your husband in an hour's time," Jessica says, ready for it.

Peter frowns, "I know, I'm excited for that, but... my mom isn't here to see it, and I started thinking about that and I thought about what if I won't be a good husband? Or a good father, if we decide to have kids. My dad was never around and I don't wanna be that kind of dad."

"You won't be. Peter, if Thor thought you were gonna be awful, he wouldn't have proposed. You're fine. He loves you," Jessica assures. "I'm gonna help you fix your makeup a little bit and we'll move you down to the venue, okay? Rocket's already waiting."

"Okay. Thank you," Peter says, letting Jessica bring him over to the vanity where Darcy left some makeup behind in case he had to fix anything.

> "He wasn't the only one."

Loki steps in front of the window and glares at him, "Sit down."

"I'm terrified!" Thor says.

Val throws her arms up in exasperation, "You are _not_ gonna pull a Steve Rogers on that awesome fiancé of yours!"

"I'm not going to!" Thor replies, equally frustrated. "I'm just scared. Loki, can you just get away from the window? I'm not gonna run."

Loki narrows his eyes at him but obliges, stepping away from it, "Fine."

"It's normal to spaz out before a wedding, Thor," Val points out, sitting down next to him. "Listen, that guy loves you. Really loves you. And I know you love him just as much, if not more. Your mom's gonna be there with you, Your brother, me, all our friends. You're not making a mistake."

"I know he's not a mistake," Thor replies. "He's the best decision I have ever made in my life. I just don't know if I did it right. If I did anything right. I keep wondering if I should have waited, or done this earlier, or --"

"What matters is that it's happening right now. You don't have time for the what ifs," Loki says. "What you do have is one hour. So you better get down there and get married. I don't know what you're feeling right now, but I imagine it'll go something like this; You say your vows, put the rings on, kiss him, have that first dance and go back home, and you'll forget why you ever freaked out in the first place."

Thor takes a deep breath and nods, saying, "Alright. Let's go. But quickly before I pass out."

> "You're probably surprised either of them panicked to begin with. They love each other so much. But here's the thing, kids. If your wedding goes too smoothly with no doubt... it's too good to be true. Wedding's aren't as perfect as the movies and TV shows make them out to be. It's not always looking beautiful when you cry during the vows. Not everyone catches the bouquet the first time it's tossed. Sometimes people say no, right on the altar. And some people just run away. But no matter how many million things go wrong, how many doubts in your mind you had about going through with the wedding, the most important part of it all... is if you show up. Did I freak out when I married your father? Of course I did. Did he freak out? Obviously. But we showed up for each other, and that was the most important part. Now, that? _That's_ love."

Tony watches from his seat in the audience between Carol and Matt as Thor walks down the aisle -- Thor's decision, because he knew Peter wouldn't want to walk if his mother wouldn't be with him -- his mother on his arm, both of them wearing big smiles. Even Loki himself has one on his face as he watches his brother come down the altar to Peter, but nobody's happiness beats Peter's. His grin grows with every step Thor takes until he's standing by his side. Tony can see it on Thor's face -- he thinks he's the luckiest man alive.

> "He walks down the aisle. They say their vows, you go to the reception, you watch them have their first dance. And, just like magic, you realise, it's a perfect fit. It just wasn't with you."

Tony had decided to leave the wedding early, going to the train station to buy a ticket back to New York. The others were disappointed that Tony wanted to go home early, but accepted his decision nonetheless and said they'll see him tomorrow.

"One ticket back to New York, thanks," Tony says, waiting a minute until he's given his ticket. When the train arrives, he sits in an empty seat and takes out the book he brought along.

> "It sounds like a sad day, I know. I mean, my best friend married my ex. Anyone would be bummed out about that, I'm no different. That train ride home, I thought about what Jessica said about how me and Peter just weren't meant to be, which made me wonder when would I find who I was meant for. But sometimes, you don't realise just how close something you were looking for has always been."

Sitting five rows behind Tony, is a man in a green jacket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	40. 9x1: Smartest Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gives the best man speech he never got to give.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final year, 2007.

> "Kids, on Christmas Day of 2006, your uncles Thor and Peter finally got married. A lot of stuff happened that day too. Thor and Bruce finally made up after their years of animosity. I accepted that Peter wasn't mine, not anymore, and I was on the way to moving on for good. Jessica met your father for the second time on the late train to the wedding. And I found a keychain on the train back to New York."

* * *

**JANUARY, 2007**

* * *

"I'm still wondering where you got that keychain from," Val says, pointing at the keychain in question on Tony's keyring. It's kind of almond shaped and was gold in colour, a green gem in its centre. Tony didn't know what it was exactly, but it looked nice and he found it on the train on the way back from Peter and Thor's wedding so he kept it.

"The train ride back, I told you," Tony says. "Isn't it cool?"

"You didn't return it?" Matt asks, taking the keychain from Tony so he can feel it.

Tony shakes his head, "No, whoever dropped it was off the train already. I just saw it on the floor and picked it up."

"Wow, a thief," Frank says. "Didn't know you had it in you, Stark."

"I'm not a thief!" Tony defends. "Finders keepers."

"That's what Peter says when he steals things," Jessica scoffs.

Frank raises an eyebrow, "Peter steals things?"

Jessica takes a drink from her bottle as she says, "Surprising, isn't it? Especially since he won't take money when it's offered. But he likes stealing stuff every once in a while, he just calls it finders keepers."

Oscar asks, "What's he stolen?"

"Nothing big, don't worry. It's always small objects like guitar picks, souvenirs, whatever," Jessica assures. "He would definitely steal that keychain."

"Intervention?" Matt asks, visibly getting excited at the idea of another out-of-hand intervention happening.

"No need," Jessica says. "It's not like he's robbing banks. This basic keychain crap is fine."

"What if the keychain belongs to someone you know and they find out you have it?" Val asks.

Tony shrugs, stowing it away, "Then I'll tell them they shouldn't have lost it."

Frank chuckles -- _actually_ _chuckles_. It catches Tony and Val off-guard. They've never heard him remotely laugh. Matt senses their surprise and he himself laughs, saying, "He does that often."

"No, I don't," Frank denies.

"Sure, Frank," Matt smiles.

Jessica says, "Oh, yeah. I've got something to ask you guys. Do you think I should marry Oscar?"

Everyone looks to her in surprise (except Matt, obviously, who just chokes on his drink.) Matt coughs, Frank patting his back to assist him, and says, "Don't scare me like that when I'm drinking!"

Jessica rolls her eyes and Val asks, "Did Oscar propose?"

"No," Jessica replies. "But since the wedding, I guess he's kind of into the idea. I don't know what I think about marriage. I mean, Oscar's a great guy and all, but do I really want to be tied down like that on the off chance he asks?"

Tony says, "Not that my opinion means anything, but I think he would be a great husband to you. If he asks and you say yes. He's got this amazing kid who likes you and, more importantly, you like. He's kind and clearly loves you a lot. I don't think marrying him would be a mistake."

"Maybe," Jessica mumbles. "But whatever. Problem for future me. Do I get to pick a best man, though?"

"Bridesmaids," Val corrects. "But, I mean, Peter had you as his best man. I'm sure you can pick whoever you want."

"Then I'm having Peter," Jessica says. "If Oscar proposes and if I say yes."

Matt asks, "Why didn't Thor have Tony as his best man? I thought he would have."

Tony shrugs, lying, "I don't know."

> "I did know. I told you before that I did. He wasn't my best man at my own wedding, how could I expect myself to be his? Plus, the day he announced they were engaged, he realised I was still in love with his fiancé, so of course he didn't pick me. I was fine with that, but I felt awful about it. From after I got home from the wedding till then, I had been working on what my speech would have been like, if Thor had me as his best man. When they came home from their Italy honeymoon, I asked them if I could do it for them."

"Sit," Tony says, pointing to the couch. The two men frown slightly in confusion but obey, sitting down. They leave their luggage by the doorway.

"What's going on?" Thor asks.

Once they're settled in, Tony reaches into his jeans pocket and pulls out a folded sheet of paper. He says, "I wasn't the best man for either one of you. Before you say anything, I get it. I know Peter's closer to Jessica and Rocket, and I have made Thor's way to you longer than it should have been and for that, I'm sorry. I'm also sorry that I left your wedding early. It was kind of selfish of me. But, uh, not being best man or a relative means I didn't really get to give a toast at your wedding. I know it happened in December and it's January right now, but I don't think I can get past not making a speech for my best friend's wedding. Plus, I kind of spent the last month trying to get this perfect. Thor, I know we've had our ups and downs, but you are, and will always be, my best friend. So, if you let me, I'd like to make a toast?"

Thor looks at Peter for a moment before he nods, smiling, "Sure. Go ahead, Tony."

Tony looks around and picks up the water, taking a sip of it. He would have taken alcohol to relieve the anxiety, but he had been staying off of alcohol a lot more stricter since his mom died. He quickly hands over the two glasses of champagne he'd prepared earlier on to the two men. He clears his throat and starts, pretending that there were more people there than just Thor and Peter, "Good evening, everyone. Hope you guys are having a great night racking up that bar tab. Sorry, Thor." Peter holds back a laugh; he was probably the one racking it up the highest. He drank so much.

"For those who don't know me, I'm Tony. Thor and I go back nine years. Wow, nine years. Time flies," Tony says. "Which means we go back to a time when Thor looked more like a knockoff version of Liam Hemsworth and less like the hot piece of ass sitting before us, tricking Peter into spending the rest of his life watching him cry every time he gets to the alternate ending of How I Met Your Mother."

"Hey. It's a valid thing to cry about," Thor jokes, chuckling.

"Because he's my best friend, I'm gonna skip the embarrassing story bit and replace it with making it known to everyone why Peter decided to marry Thor. First of all, he's got fantastic taste. He's wearing the same outfit as me," Tony says. He deviates from his script and says, "Well, I mean, not _now_. But at the wedding."

"Yep," Peter says. "Go on."

Tony continues, "Second, when he loves, he loves hard. There is nothing this man wouldn't do for me. In fact, he has spent the past nine years doing nothing for me. See what you have to look forward to, Peter?"

Thor laughs and leans forward to playfully punch Tony's arm. Tony chuckles and shakes his head, going on, "I'm just kidding. Uh, there's this old saying I found on Google that reads 'it is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them', and that could not be more true for me and Thor. In the nine years that we've known each other, we've made a whole bunch of stupid decisions. Bad relationship choices, the one road trip we took to celebrate Christmas that ended with us getting snowed in the car, the time Thor decided to eat too much mac and cheese that he got a bad stomach ache the day we were gonna see Fall Out Boy live. But rather than continuing to list all his stupid decisions -- which, trust me, is _a lot_ \-- I'm gonna focus on the smart moves he's made. The friends he has made, for one. The relationship he has with his family. His career, from being a freelancer to running a successful café with a badass name. All of this is a reflection of the incredible man he has become. But no matter how many smart moves he has made... really, the smartest move he has ever made is marrying you, Peter."

Thor pulls Peter close to him and beams at Tony, and he feels like he's finally going to get past this. Tony exhales and puts away the paper -- time to go off-script. He didn't write his apology down because he wanted it to be as sincere as possible.

"Speaking of smart moves. He made the smart move of not having me as his actual best man," Tony says. "I know, I know. What a surprise. Who wouldn't want me as a best man? I'm just kidding. I, admittedly, haven't been the best friend Thor needed. Not for a while now. My friends keep saying I have a right to act the way I have been acting, and that I will find someone for myself eventually. But right now, in this moment, looking back at how I have been to Thor and Peter... The point is, I haven't been your best friend, and I'm sorry. Thor, you... You have been my right hand throughout all the big moments of my life. Always been there for it all. I can't be more grateful that you've invited me to share this big moment of yours with you. So, happy wedding, you two. You deserve each other more than anything. And Peter..."

Peter looks up with _that_ smile. And Tony just knows.

"I remember, on the night the two of you met, you asked him what he was doing, and Thor said he had no idea what he was looking for. You told him that sometimes, the thing you've been looking for has been by your side all along. And I remember, you were sitting next to him that night, and now we're here. He found you. Peter, Thor's the best person I have ever known. And he will love you with everything he's got. And I am... so happy, that he is the one that has your love," Tony finishes. "Thanks, goodnight."

Thor gets up and pulls Tony into a tight hug, saying quietly, "Thank you so much, Tony. That was great. I love you."

"I love you too, man," Tony replies. He peers over Thor's shoulder to look at Peter standing behind them. Peter raises his glass and mouths 'You did awesome'.

> "You can't cling on to the past. Because no matter how tightly you hold on, it's already gone."

'Thank you', Tony mouths back.

> "When something's gone, the only thing we can really do is move forward. I had to let Thor fall in love with Peter. I had to stand aside and let those two idiots go ahead. I spent so long being selfish and jealous that I could have ruined this beautiful thing Peter and Thor made for themselves that looking back on myself now, I can't believe I used to be that guy. The guy who thought of ruining his best friend's proposal. Kids, the reason why this story's gone on for as long as it's gone on is because I had to become the man I had to be before I could meet your dad. I'm glad I didn't meet him earlier. I'm glad Matt walked into MacLaren's in 1999 instead of him. I'm glad Peter was the performer at Knowhere instead of him. If I had met him, I don't think he would have liked me. Hell, I don't think I liked me. But it's okay. Because December's just eleven months away."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	41. 9x2: Ghost Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony convinces Thor and Peter to move back into the apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story's gonna feel kind of cramped, and I'm going to be honest with you; It's because I have almost nothing to fill the chapters up with anymore since the story is so close to, well, being closed. I hope you don't mind. I'm trying my best to make these last couple chapters good and tie up any and all loose ends.
> 
> From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading so far into the story. It really does mean a lot to me and I'm so grateful that you have supported my story with all your kudos and comments. Makes my day :) Thank you.

> "Kids, you remember that your uncle Peter almost moved to Los Angeles two years before. In the May of 2007, he made good on his word with his new husband Thor."

* * *

**MAY, 2007**

* * *

"We're moving to Missouri," Thor says. Val almost drops the drink in her hand.

"Oh my God, not this again," Jessica mutters. "I cannot live with Peter being literal hours away from my apartment."

Peter gives her an apologetic smile as Thor continues, "We just really need the space. I don't wanna make Tony move out because he was the one who paid for the apartment. Plus, Peter's grandparents decided to just give his old Missouri house to him."

"But what do you need the space for?" Val whines. "I don't want you to leave me, Odinson."

Loki frowns, "You already live quite a ways away from Mom and I."

"Yeah, but trust me. We just need the room," Thor says. "We started packing two days ago and we'll be out of the apartment by the middle of next week, I think."

"That's so soon," Carol says sadly.

"I'm gonna miss you guys," Matt laments. "I know you'll come visit, but it's gonna be so inconvenient and I know the visits will just dwindle down."

"No way. Come on, you guys," Peter denies. "We'll continue to be like this. Look, we'll come back to the booth at least once a week. Okay?"

Loki shrugs, "Fine, but Mom will miss you. Also, don't you have your café to run?"

"I'll come here to work, but I'm gonna promote you to assistant manager so you can help me when I'm not around," Thor says to Loki. "I can trust you with assistant manager, right?"

Loki blinks in surprise, but nods slowly, "Yes."

"Good," Thor smiles.

* * *

**JUNE, 2007**

* * *

"Hey, losers," Jessica greets as Peter opens the door. The house looked pretty nice -- it's Jessica's first time visiting. The P.I. side of her brings her eyes around the home and her brain fires off observations. The two of them don't even have photos on the walls yet. They literally still have unpacked boxes lying around. She brings up, "You're not settled yet, huh?"

"Oh, yeah. We just never really got around to that," Peter says dismissively.

Jessica frowns and peers into the bedroom, saying, "You literally haven't even unpacked your clothes."

"We've been kind of busy," Thor defends.

Jessica narrows her eyes at them, unconvinced, and says, "No bullshit with me. You're not used to being here, are you?"

"We're not," Peter finally admits. "We thought it wouldn't be too long before we get used to life here, but... I can't lie about it, we miss being near you guys."

Thor agrees sheepishly, "We got used to having MacLaren's right below our apartment, and now we open the door and see the neighbour's kids running in the front yard."

"It's just... really different," Peter says quietly.

> "After Jessica found out they didn't like it there, she told me, and I went to give them a visit. I wanted to find out why exactly they didn't want to move back. I thought it was about me, but I was wrong."

"Tony, good to see you," Thor smiles, bringing Tony into a hug. He steps aside to let Tony into the house. Jessica was right -- they've barely unpacked anything except for a couple loose shirts lying around.

"When she said you didn't unpack, she wasn't kidding," Tony exhales, looking around at all the full cardboard boxes.

Peter sighs, "Yeah, we've gotten that a lot. It's just that we haven't really... I've been living in New York for so long. Now I'm living a few houses down from my grandparents who don't like me and I don't know any of my neighbours. The closest bar's like half an hour away."

"Okay, fine. We don't really like it here," Thor says. Peter stares at him and he raises his arms in defence, "It's true! We don't! You love Missouri, but admit it. You wouldn't move back here."

"Okay, yeah... Missouri was only magical because my mom was there," Peter mutters. "Missouri doesn't really hold any good memories for me except for those with her."

"Then move back," Tony suggests. "I'll be more than happy to help you move back into the apartment. You know the rest will be ecstatic to have you back in New York. You already admitted to Jess and me that you don't like it here. You have nothing to lose if you go back to New York."

"We can't, we need the extra space here," Thor tries the point again. "The apartment doesn't have it."

Tony frowns, "Yeah, you keep saying that. But I can't imagine what you need the space for."

"We're gonna have a baby," Peter finally announces. Tony's eyes widen in surprise as he continues, "We were gonna tell you guys a little closer to the date. We found this awesome lady in January who offered to be a surrogate and she just told us that she's coming in October, so..."

"_She_? She's a girl. Oh my God, you're having a baby girl," Tony finds himself kind of tearing up at the idea that they have a kid on the way. "Congratulations. What are you going to name her?"

"Meredith, after his mom," Thor answers.

> "Two years ago, if you told me Peter and Thor were having a kid named after his mom, I might have been so devastated. But after the wedding, that talk with Peter at his room balcony, Matt's words to me at the bedsheet shop, I had finally started to move on. And I could say whole-heartedly that I was genuinely happy for them. They deserved it."

"That's so cute. I..." Tony breaks into a grin and he can't help but cry. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you," Thor grins, accepting Tony's tight hug.

When they finally pull away, Tony says, "Okay, but you are gonna make her middle name Anthony, right?"

Thor frowns playfully, "Hm, don't know about that."

"Come on. I'll make my kid's middle name your name if you do this," Tony bargains, laughing as he wipes his stray tears away. Thor himself blinks his own tears off and looks over at Peter.

"I don't mind," Peter says.

> "James... You always asked me why you have Thor as your middle name. Well, now you know that I did it so your cousin Meredith Anthony Odinson-Quill would have my name as her middle name."
> 
> "Dad!" James gives him a bewildered look. Morgan laughs.
> 
> "It's a badass middle name! Come on."
> 
> "Okay, yeah," James mumbles. "Thor is a cool name. God of frickin' thunder!"
> 
> "And Morgan Maria Stark-Strange, your middle name is my beautiful mom. Anyway, back to the story. After that talk with your uncles, now knowing why they didn't want to move back, I wanted to help them with that. They hated it at Missouri but wanted their daughter to have room to grow up. We didn't like them being so far away and I had my own revelation. They didn't ask me to move out because I bought the apartment before I asked Thor to move in with me. It was mine. Thor's name is on the lease as well, but I was the one who paid for it. Even when he moved out the previous month, I didn't remove his name. I knew they would never get me to move out, so I called them a week later to come back to the apartment."

"Tony?" Peter calls out, unlocking the door. Thor looks around and slows to a stop. The apartment is almost completely empty except for just a few items that belonged to Thor or Peter that they didn't take with them to Missouri.

"Tony!" Thor says, walking deeper into the apartment to try and find his best friend. "What's going on?" Peter glances toward the kitchen and walks over, attention taken by a note pinned on the beam.

"Hey, Thor. There's a letter for you," Peter says, taking the note down. Thor comes back into the living room and takes it from Peter. He reads it from next to Thor.

_Dear Thor:_

_I don't know if you know this, but I never took your name off the lease. Well, today I took my name off of it and added another. The apartment is now just yours (and Peter's). And I think I figured out the best thing to do with my old room. _

Thor and Peter walk over to Tony's room, opening the door to see what the letter was talking about. In the middle of the otherwise empty room was a cot, painted burgundy. The two of them smile, touched by the gift, and continue reading the letter.

_For me, this place has begun to feel a little haunted, and I think it's haunted by me. Well, no ghost is at peace until it finally moves on. I need a change. And I think you do, too. This apartment needs some new life, and I think Meredith will really like growing up here. I know I did. So, please, make our old home your new home. It is now ghost-free._

_Love, Tony._

> "No, we didn't always stay within an hour of our usual booth. The thing about life and time is that neither waits for anyone. It's like a current that just takes everyone along. You can't fight back forever. But what you can do about it is make an effort. Kids, when you grow up, you'll discover just how easy it is to fall out of contact with people who used to be your everything. That's why, when you find people you love, you make an effort to keep them around. But you don't have to all live like an hour apart to keep them with you. What we learnt over the years was that even if we never always stayed near the booth, the booth was wherever the seven of us were together."

Tony knocks on Jessica's door and she opens up, stepping aside to give him way to come in. She asks, "You gave them the place?"

"I gotta move on, Jess," Tony replies while Jessica follows him to the guest room.

"Well, make yourself at home," Jessica says. "Good night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	42. 9x3: I Love You 3000

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baby Meredith is here.

> "Kids, good news."
> 
> "What?" Morgan and James ask simultaneously.
> 
> "I'm skipping straight to October because nothing super important happened between June and September. Your father and I met in December, which means we're just two months away."
> 
> "Oh my God, finally," James mutters. "Why don't we just skip to December?"
> 
> "Because I can't miss the birth of your cousin Meredith. But before that happened, Oscar had something to tell us. Just to catch you up, in August, I got a new apartment not too far from MacLaren's and moved out of Jessica's place."

* * *

**OCTOBER, 2007**

* * *

"Oscar, my man," Thor greets with a smile.

Oscar gives him a hug and asks, "Are you excited?"

"Literally any day now, she's gonna come. I'm terrified," Peter replies.

Oscar laughs and says, "You're going to be good parents to that girl. I know it. Vido is really excited about baby Meredith."

"Oh my God, they can be best friends. That's so cute," Val sighs in adoration as Oscar pulls over an extra seat next to Tony. "Could you imagine Jessica babysitting them both?"

Carol grins and replies, "I think she'll drink herself half-blind if she has to deal with two young kids at."

"Speaking of Jessica... I have something to ask you guys," he says. They all look at him, giving him their attention, and he continues, "How do you think Jessica would react to a proposal?"

All five of them stare at him in shock and Thor breaks the silence, "You're going to propose?"

"No solid plans yet," Oscar says quickly. "But I've been thinking about it for months now. I can't think of a single reason why not. I mean, we practically live together at this rate, Vido spends all his off-school time with her. We have dinner together most nights. She likes my kid. I love her."

"Well, first off. This is coming from us, we don't think marriage is a must," Val says. "We love each other, but marriage isn't like some big grand thing to us, so we never got married, even though we've been dating for a _long_ time now. It's not for everyone. Don't feel pressured to do it. You know... You just never _know_ with Jessica."

"That's true..." Oscar trails off.

"But!" Tony cuts in. "I feel like she would say yes. She actually talked about this in January, right?"

Oscar leans forward, interested, "What'd she say?"

"Nothing helpful," Tony says regretfully. "She said whether she would say yes or no is 'Future Jessica's problem'. You're out of luck with us, buddy. But, if it helps any, I think she would say yes."

"You really think so?" Oscar asks hopefully.

Thor says, "Don't get your hopes up too high, Jessica doesn't like talking about that kind of thing, marriage. If you ask, give her time to think of an answer?"

"Of course, yeah," Oscar nods. "I just really like her, you know. She's one amazing woman."

"That she is," Peter agrees.

> "From one amazing woman to another."

Thor's phone rings and he looks down before his eyes widen, his hand coming up to get Peter's attention. He says, thumb sliding across the screen to accept the call, "It's her, Pete, it's her!"

"Oh my God, is it happening?" Carol asks, a grin slowly growing on her face.

Thor listens to the call for a few seconds before lets out a laugh, "It's happening."

Peter cheers and stands up, pulling on his red jacket, "Yes! Holy shit, we're gonna be dads! Babe, let's go!" He tugs Thor's arm and pulls him out of MacLaren's.

Tony quickly follows them, "I'm driving you guys. You are way too excited to drive."

"I wanna come along! I wanna see my niece!" Val says, grabbing Carol's hand as Oscar stands as well. "She better be my niece."

> "I drove Peter, Thor, Carol and Val there. Oscar went back to Hell's Kitchen to tell Jessica. We were in the waiting room for hours, just waiting for the moment a nurse comes out to tell us baby Meredith was here."

Peter paces the floor, mumbling, "I'm very scared."

"Hey, hey. Come on," Tony tries, taking Peter's hand and pulling him down into the seat next to him. Thor had gone to the bathroom, and the exact moment he was out of earshot, Peter started freaking out. Carol and Val had gone off to get some snacks for all of them, so Peter and Tony were left alone. Tony says, "It's gonna be alright."

"That's the thing," Peter replies. "What if I'm not a good dad? When I was a kid and thought about the future, the idea of kids seemed so non-existent because since my dad was never there, I always thought I was gonna be like that."

"You're not gonna be like your dad," Tony assures. "I've seen you with Oscar's kid. Meredith's gonna be one lucky kid with you and Thor as her dads. She's gonna grow up amazing and I know you're gonna be there with her always."

> "I was right. You know your cousin Meredith is on her way to working for NASA, the way your uncle Peter always wanted to. You remember when I first met him and he said he wanted to be an astronaut but school never worked out. But he and Thor were such great dads that their kid's becoming an astronaut."

"Thanks," Peter says. "I'm just pretty stressed."

"Totally normal," Tony replies, running a comforting thumb over his hand. "But we're all here with you."

Peter gives him a smile -- though it's weak, it's clearly amused -- and says, "I can't wait to see how you'll be when your first kid comes along."

"I'm not gonna lose my shit. I'm always cool," Tony scoffs.

> "That's a lie."

**=== NOVEMBER, 2011 ===**

"I'm going to die, holy _shit_," Tony exhales, rubbing his hands together in a futile attempt to stay calm.

Peter holds his hand and smiles, "Thought you said you wouldn't freak out?"

"Complete horseshit. I regret saying that," Tony mutters. "I'm gonna be a shit dad."

Peter rolls his eyes and says, "Come on. Thor and I had deadbeat dads too and Meredith turned out great. Doesn't matter how shit your dad was. You're not him."

"I'm not him," Tony repeats.

Peter brings him into a hug, rubbing his back in comfort, "Do you think Rhodey's gonna cry when he realises you named your son after him?"

"Oh shit, I forgot I haven't told him the name yet," Tony realises. "He's going to cry, definitely."

> "He did, by the way."

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

"Odinson-Quills?" a nurse calls as she walks into the waiting room. Everyone looks up at her in anticipation and Jessica, Matt, Frank and Oscar walk in just in time for it. She smiles and says, "You can go see her now."

"Oh my God," Thor breathes out, pulling Peter with him as they both go to see their daughter.

Thor carefully holds the tiny baby in his hands -- she is just so small, he feels like he could crush her. He struggles to find the words. The baby blinks heavily and looks at them -- she has these beautiful green eyes that reminds him of Peter's mother. He says quietly, "Hi, Meredith."

Then she _smiles _and Peter whispers to her, trying not to just _lose_ it, "You are the love of my life... Everything I have and everything I am is yours."

> "Eventually, it was our turn, we went in one by one with Peter and Thor just to not overload the baby. You might find it hard to imagine me holding your tall cousin Meredith above my head, but back then, I could. When I went back to my apartment, Jessica decided to come with me."

"You've really done up a nice place for yourself," she comments. "I like the red and gold hints around. Very you."

"Isn't it?" Tony smiles. "Today has been _emotional_."

"Tell me about it," Jessica scoffs. "Oscar asked me before we went to the hospital if I would marry him?"

Tony's eyes widen and he asks, "He did?"

"No ring or anything, he didn't want to pressure me," Jessica clarifies. "He just said he would love to marry me and asked me if I would, but he didn't get a ring so I wouldn't feel bad that he got one. He's giving me as much time as I need to consider it."

"What are you thinking?" Tony asks.

"I don't wanna think right now," Jessica replies. "What do you want to do?"

Tony shrugs, "I don't know. All that stuff about marriage and kids tonight... Makes me wonder if I'll ever have a kid."

"Write a letter to your future kid," Jessica suggests. "You've got nothing but time."

"Yeah, why not?" Tony replies. He's got nothing to lose. It might be fun. He digs out a notebook and clicks his pen, writing:

_Dear James,_

"How do you know if your future kid will be a boy?" Jessica asks, looking over his shoulder to read the note. Tony corrects it.

_Dear James/Morgan,_

"Morgan," Jessica notes. "I know James is for Rhodey, but what's Morgan for?"

"I just think it's a pretty name," Tony answers. "Her full name would be Morgan Maria Stark."

She jumps over the couch to sit next to Tony, saying, "That's nice." Tony continues to write.

_I hope you like your name. _

_If you're James, I named you after my best friend, James Rhodes. You know him as Uncle Rhodey. He's in the army, and he's one of the best guys I have ever known. And, if your uncle Thor holds up his end of the deal, your middle name is probably Thor. (If your mom/dad agrees.) The two of them have always been there for me. I hope that I will always be there for you the way they have been for me._

_If you're Morgan, I didn't name you after anyone, but I thought it was a gorgeous name. I haven't met you yet, but I already know you are going to be the most beautiful girl I will ever see in my life. I'm giving you my mother's name as your middle name (Again, if your mom/dad agrees too). I hope the world will always be beautiful to you._

_I hope you talk to girls or boys, anyone you like. I love you no matter what. I just hope you don't keep yourself cooped up at home every day. Go outside. I sound like an old man, but just know that at any moment, you can change your life by just stepping outside. You never know what's going to happen, who you'll meet._

_Doesn't seem like there's anyone for me out there, but I hope that I can meet you in this world someday. But before I can meet you, I have to meet your mom or other dad._

_I hope that when you read this letter, you still like me. You know, teenagers hate their parents sometimes, but I hope you still like me. I hope that when you move, you don't move too far away. _

_(You can move if you want, obviously. Just know that I'll miss you a lot.)_

_I hope you don't think I'm hovering when I text you to ask about your day. Will we still hang out when you're all grown up, when I'm old and you don't live in the same city anymore? I hope I'll be there at your 21st and I hope you'll let me take your first shot with you. (Ask your mom/other dad first.)_

_James/Morgan, I'm looking for your mom/dad right now. I need to find someone who loves me back, and doesn't mind if I stay up late to tinker at my workshop. Someone who understands my blueprints and names my robots. Someone who believes in dropping a domino and waiting for the rest to follow and someone who is looking for me as much as I'm looking for them._

_In short, James/Morgan, it won't be long till I meet you. But I gotta meet your mom/other dad first._

_But until then, I love you 3000. You'll get what that means in a couple of years, maybe._

_Love,_

_Tony_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	43. 9x5: I'm Going To Fall In Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A night that never happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters left. Holy crap.

> "Kids, in the November of 2007, I had a night to myself. It was the night I wish happened. Before I met your father, I had to go through the previous nine years to be the man I had to be when I met him. If 1999 me had met your father, I don't think he would have married me."

* * *

**NOVEMBER, 2007**

* * *

"Hey," Peter greets, sliding into the booth. "Guess who got the tickets to Robots vs. Wrestlers."

"That's awesome," Carol grins. "I was wondering when this year's one was gonna happen."

Peter puts the tickets down in the middle of the booth table, grinning, "Well, wonder no longer. It's here, baby."

It's a moment of silence before the three of them reach to grab their own ticket, leaving four for the others who weren't there. They look at the seat numbers and Carol groans, "Dude, I hate this seat. There's always some knucklehead sitting in front of me and I'm too short to look over him."

Tony shrugs, "My seat's fine."

Peter laughs triumphantly, "Losers weepers."

"Peter Quill, I challenge you to a dance-off," Carol practically growls. "If I win, you give me your ticket."

"Fine, loser," Peter smiles, setting down his ticket as both of them walk towards the juke box. "I'll have you know I'm the king of dance-offs."

"You can't dance to save your damn life," Carol jeers.

Peter feigns offence and picks out a song; _Surrender_ by Cheap Trick. Tony watches from his place, laughing at how ridiculous the two of them look. Neither of them can dance for _shit_, but it was funny to watch them try. While they had their dance-off at the juke box, Tony receives a call from Matt. He picks up, greeting, "Hey, Matt. Listen, Peter got us our tickets for Robots vs. Wrestlers."

"I like that you guys still get me tickets despite the fact that I literally can't watch the match," Matt laughs. "Thanks, anyway. Maybe you can give my ticket to Loki."

"Sure, I'll ask him," Tony replies. "How's your case going?"

Jennifer's voice comes through the receiver, "It's going good! I'm pretty sure we're gonna win this."

"Love that confidence," Tony grins. "You're gonna kill it."

"Thanks," Matt says. "Have fun at Robots vs. Wrestlers for me. I called to say I wasn't gonna come, but have fun."

"Bye!" Jennifer calls out before Matt hangs up. Tony puts down his phone and looks over as Peter and Carol have abandoned their dance-off. Carol was on the phone with Val and Peter was talking to a handsome man about something Tony can't hear.

He looks down at his phone; A text from Thor, reading: _Gonna be late so I'm not coming down tonight. Sorry :(_

He texts back: _No worries. Tell her I said hi._

Thor's reply takes a few moments to come back: _Who's her?_

Tony frowns, replying: _Meredith?_

Thor's answer comes quick: _You know Peter's mom died... How could I say hi to her? I'm out with T'Challa right now._

"That's weird," Tony mumbles.

Peter and Carol return to the table, switching their tickets for Robots vs. Wrestlers, and Peter asks, "What's weird?"

"Thor said he was out with T'Challa..." Tony says, confused with the situation. "He doesn't know his daughter?"

"Well, yeah, duh," Carol smiles, amused. "She's not his daughter yet."

"This never happened," Peter says. Carol nods, giving Tony a sad look as he realises none of them were in the booth. "This night happened three years ago. Carol and I had a drunk dance-off at the juke box _three years ago_. I hooked up with some guy that night. Thor was on his last date with T'Challa. Jessica was out chatting up a dude in another bar. Matt was at his office working on a new case with Jennifer. Val was staying up late with her new client Luna Snow to determine tour dates."

Tony blinks, slowly coming back to reality. He's right. The night did go like that.

Peter continues, "Right now, Matt's busy at Frank's apartment, reading file after file for his Supreme Court case. Val is at Carol's organising tour dates for Luke and Danny and dealing with new clients. Face it, Jessica's probably gonna say yes to Oscar any day now. Thor and I are upstairs, putting Meredith to sleep."

Slowly, Tony realises. _Everyone else has really moved on_. MacLaren's is empty, and Peter says, "You can't keep being the guy who lives in his stories... We're all moving on. It's time you do too, Tony. He's waiting for you." Peter and Carol, too, aren't there, and Tony stares at the shots he'd called earlier that evening that nobody showed up to drink. Because those shots never existed.

> "Thor and Peter with their baby, Val and Matt with their jobs, Jessica with her relationship and cases. I was all alone in MacLaren's, on the night that never happened. The only part of the night that really did happen was that I was there alone. No future versions showed up, no talk with Peter about moving on. Just me and six tickets to that year's Robots vs. Wrestlers. If I had to relive that night, no way would I have gone to Robots vs. Wrestlers. I would go upstairs and watch Thor and Peter try to get their daughter Meredith to sleep. I would visit Carol and Val's place and help organise tour dates. I would go see Jessica and watch her ramble about marriage. I would go to Frank's apartment and laugh with him about unethical ways Matt could win his case. But none of those things are things I would do first. No, the first thing I would do is get out of MacLaren's and just run. Get through all those streets, get to that one apartment complex, get to that one door... If I had to relive that night, I would do this."

Tony knocks on the door and it opens. Before he can say anything, Tony starts talking, "Hi. My name is Tony Stark and I'm going to fall in love with you in thirty days. We're gonna have two kids; A daughter named Morgan and a son named James. We're going to love the hell out of them and we're going to be so happy. And we're going to love each other more than anything. That's only thirty days away, but I can't wait that long. I want those extra thirty days with you... because I love you. And I am always going to love you. You are the best thing to happen to me, and I wish I knew you were coming my way. Because then I'd be here right now, actually talking to you. I just... God, I love you so much, and you don't even know it yet. _I _don't even know it yet and I really wish we did."

Tony wipes a stray tear off on his sleeve before he recomposes himself, saying, "But we _didn't_ know, so I guess we'll have to meet thirty days later. But just know that nothing in this world will ever stop me from loving you forever."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I've never been better," Tony smiles shakily. "God, why am I crying? This is embarrassing."

"Do you want me to call someone for you? A friend?"

"No, no. They're all busy tonight," Tony says. "Which is why I'm here. But I'm going to let you go now."

"You sure you're okay?"

Tony nods, "Yeah. I'm better now that I'm seeing you. Well... Goodnight. I love you, Stephen." With that, Tony walks away and hears the apartment door shut.

> "During all this, what actually happened on November 2007 was exactly what Peter said. I was in my apartment, working on blueprints for a projection drone. Thor wasn't my roommate anymore, he and Peter lived in what once was our apartment. Jessica is actually thinking about settling down. Matt's fighting a Supreme Court case. Val's career was just getting better and better, and she might move to Los Angeles soon. I had to accept that it wasn't 1999 anymore. We were a long way from 1999. Was I where I thought I would be by 2007? No. And you know what? Thinking about it now? I'm actually fine with that. If my life hadn't been as slow as it was, I wouldn't have met the best man I have ever known. So I'll wait those thirty days if that's what it takes. Because, damn it, I love your father more than anything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	44. 9x6: How Your Father Met Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every time Stephen Strange's life has crossed with Tony's.

> "Kids, when I told your uncles Peter and Thor that I thought their love story was the second greatest one ever told, they asked me what I thought made a great love story. Well, to me, as sappy as it sounds, it would be something years in the making. You could argue theirs has also been years in the making because Peter named Thor's café in 1999 before they even met in 2002, _but_ they didn't have a whole bunch of things happen to bring them to the right place at the right time. Your father and I have been nine years in the making. I didn't know any of this until your father told me when we met. It was only then that I realised just how destiny will make everything fall in place as long as you tip the first domino."

* * *

**APRIL, 1999**

Stephen comes out of the departure hall, narrowly missing a man with purple luggage who was rushing through the crowd. He checks his phone -- 2:43PM.

A woman with white hair dressed in all black walks over to the dark-haired man, asking him something before she gives him a parcel. The man gives her an envelope and then the woman is on her way, stashing the envelope into her coat pocket.

Stephen sees the dark-haired man and man with the purple luggage stand and leave, but the former of them had left his book behind. Stephen walks over grabs the book, calling out, "Hey, you forgot this!" The man doesn't hear him, and before Stephen can even consider the idea of chasing him to return the book, his flight number is announced.

* * *

**DECEMBER, 2000**

"This is a good party, Dr Banner," Wong compliments. "I mean, it's a little unenthusiastic, but it's you we're talking about. You're not a party guy."

"Please, call me Bruce. And I'm not a party guy," Bruce agrees. "But the guys at work really wanted me to host one and I didn't want to say no. So here we are. I bought Spotify Premium for this."

Stephen laughs, shaking his head. He turns to see Claire returning with some drinks. She hands out the paper cups and says, "Hi, Bruce! Thanks for inviting me. I see you've met my plus-one. I hope you don't mind he has his own plus-one."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Bruce grins. "It's the people who make the party, after all. The more, the merrier." Bruce peers over at the front door before saying, "Excuse me, some other new friends just arrived. I'm gonna go welcome them. Have fun, you guys."

They wave to him as he disappears into the crowd to talk to the group of people who just came in. Claire says, "Well, it's your time to let loose, boys. Go have fun."

It's not too long until Stephen finds himself flirting with a guy named Kaecilius. Though not his first choice at the party, he's still fairly good looking and quite a smooth talker.

"Med student, huh? You're gonna be a doctor, what kind?" Kaecilius asks.

"Neurosurgeon, hopefully," Stephen replies. "You?"

"I teach martial arts, but I like reading into occult stuff sometimes. It's interesting," he says. "Do you have your own hobbies?"

"Magic's pretty fun," Stephen admits, taking off his green jacket and leaving it on the couch. The two of them keep talking and joking and Stephen's almost certain he's going to get laid tonight until Wong taps him on the shoulder.

He says, "Claire isn't feeling well, she needs you to drive her home."

"Oh, yeah. Sure," Stephen nods. He gives Kaecilius a regretful look and says, "Sorry, gotta go. My friend needs me."

"No worries. Go ahead," he says. "Maybe we'll meet again someday."

"I could give you my number," Stephen offers. He adds quickly, "If you want."

Kaecilius shakes his head, "I believe in letting the tide take us where we need to go. If we're meant to meet again, we will. I'll see you around, Stephen."

"Goodbye, then," Stephen waves, walking off with Wong.

Wong says flatly, "He's a hippie."

Stephen laughs, putting an arm around Wong's shoulder, "That's true." He doesn't even realise he forgot his jacket until he's dropping Claire off at her apartment.

* * *

**APRIL, 2001**

Claire rolls her eyes, finishing off the sandwich she was eating, "I can't believe his nerve. How could he do that to you?"

Stephen shrugs and says, "I'm used to it. My parents aren't the best. Especially not my dad."

Claire frowns and replies, "But still. God, they'll regret disowning you when you become the top neurosurgeon."

Stephen's parents have never been the nicest to him. When his sister Donna died when he was younger, their grief took over and they stopped being kind. He didn't like his parents anymore, because it was obvious they didn't like him. But when he came out as gay to them, it was the final nail in the coffin for their already collapsing relationship. They decided that they no longer wanted to have him as a son, and he went with it. He didn't want them as his parents either, if they were going to be like that. If he ever had kids, he didn't want to name either kid after his parents.

Stephen smiles faintly, "Hm. Bit early to dream about top neurosurgeon, right?"

"Never too early to dream, St--" Claire cuts herself off when Stephen squints in the distance, pointing ahead. "What?"

"Claire... Car accident."

Claire looks ahead and he's right. There was a car, only slightly dented, and a man unconscious on the road, bleeding. She tosses her sandwich wrapper into a nearby bin and starts running forward. Stephen follows her and they both stop at the man. A voice inside of Stephen curses at all the onlookers who hadn't even bothered calling an ambulance, just filming the casualty with their phones. While Claire checks on the man, Stephen calls for an ambulance. Claire gently presses two fingers to his neck and sighs in relief, "Not dead, just unconscious."

Once Stephen gets off the phone with the hospital, he looks over the man. Looks like he's going to have a broken leg, maybe some ribs affected on impact. He was bleeding from his head too, the crimson matting his messy blonde hair. He knows it's pretty unlikely, but he hoped the man would at least do something to let them know he's still responsive.

Claire and Stephen keep curious onlookers away from the man until the ambulance arrives, where the both of them came along, wanting to make sure he was fine. Since they were practising in the medical field, they were allowed on the ambulance.

The paramedic asks, "Do you know him? Was he unconscious when you found him?"

"No, we don't know him," Claire answers. "And yes, he was unconscious by the time we found him. I don't know how long he's been lying there."

Another paramedic gets the man's wallet out of his pants and goes through it, listing off, "No credit cards, a few dollar bills, photo of family... Ah, an ID. Peter Jason Quill. Get emergency contacts from medical records, John."

Not long after Peter is being tended to, two woman run into the hospital lobby. Claire points them out as they list their names -- Meredith Quill and Mantis Empath-Quill -- here to see Peter Quill. Stephen walks to them and says to the clerk, "They're with us." The clerk nods and waves them off, and Claire introduces to Meredith, "Hi, I'm Claire Temple and this is my intern Stephen Strange. We made sure your son was brought here."

"You brought my son to the hospital?" Meredith asks. "Thank you so much. Is he okay?"

"Unconscious for now," Claire answers with a calm voice, keeping a hand on Meredith's shoulder to ground her. "I don't know the full extent of his injuries, but from what I could see, we're looking at a broken leg, a concussion and possibly broken ribs. Maybe internal bleeding."

"Oh my God," Meredith gasps, sitting down. "Oh my God."

"I'm so sorry this is happening. The good news is that your son can come back from this," Claire says, sitting next to her to comfort her. Stephen is left with Mantis, the Asian girl who came with Meredith. From her last name, he guesses she's adopted.

"Mantis, right? I'm Stephen," he introduces. "Your brother is going to be alright."

She says, voice soft, "I hope so. I'm not ready to lose him." She has a sense of innocence and gentleness about her. Stephen likes her already.

"He's not gonna... you know. Promise," Stephen says, deciding that if Claire is comforting Meredith, he'll help Mantis. It's an hour later that Meredith and Mantis are allowed in to see Peter and the two of them left them alone.

A few days later, Claire says in the clinic, "We should ask them if they want to bring Quill here. In case they can't pay the bill. I just know it's going to be insane to pay."

"If you want to, we can ask," Stephen says. With that, the two of them return to the hospital and visit Peter, with Meredith's permission.

"Hi," she greets softly. "How are you?"

"We've been fine," Claire says, smiling as she takes the empty seat next to Meredith. She guesses Mantis must be at work or school -- Claire doesn't know how old she is, but she looks young. "We came because we wanted to give you an offer. But first, have you gotten the hospital bill yet?"

Meredith sighs, running a hand through her wavy hair, "No, but one of the nurses gave me an estimate. Mantis is already working as a gardener for the shelter we live at and I've been thinking about asking for extra shifts at the diner I work at..."

"Meredith, I'm a trained medical professional and I run a small clinic where I help people who can't afford things like prolonged hospital stays, which Peter is most likely looking at," Claire says, reading his medical chart. "My offer is that we have Peter transferred to my facility, where me and Stephen will personally care for him for a lower price."

Meredith shakes her head but before she can say anything, Peter asks weakly, blinking sleep out of his eyes, "Mom, who are they?"

"I'm Stephen, this is Claire," Stephen answers for Meredith. "We called the ambulance for you the day you got hit by a car. How are you feeling?"

"Like the car is bashing my head," Peter groans, covering his eyes with his forearm. "This room is way too bright." Stephen goes to turn down the light. Thankfully, Peter was given a private ward due to his concussion, so nobody would complain about the dim light. He smiles faintly, "Thanks, man."

"Well, it's good that you're awake. We were discussing with your mother about the possibility of transferring you to my clinic. It's basically this but for a lower price. Don't worry, I'm a professionally trained nurse," Claire explains. "Your mother is against it, but I'd like to know what _you_ think."

"I think it's great," Peter says quietly. Not because he was ashamed of his answer or anything else, Stephen thinks it's more because his hearing would be more sensitive because of his concussion.

Meredith tries, "Peter, I would feel better if you just stayed here."

Peter replies, "Mom, you and I both know that this bill is gonna be hell to pay... I'm fine with this."

"Can I talk to you in private?" Claire asks. Meredith follows her out of the ward, leaving Stephen and Peter alone.

Stephen asks, making sure to keep his voice low out of consideration for Peter, "So, you survived. How are you feeling about that?"

"I should have died," Peter replies. "I shouldn't be here."

"Come on. I don't think anyone should have to die," Stephen says.

"I don't deserve to live," Peter says quietly.

Stephen thinks about what to say before he asks hesitantly, "Did you step in front of that car on purpose?" When Peter doesn't respond, Stephen adds, "Do you have depression?"

"Don't know, don't care," he mutters.

"I think you should get it checked out. I'm concerned about your mental state," he says. "I'm not in the position to diagnose you. At least, not yet, but..."

Peter frowns, "My mom's got enough on her plate, man. Look, I'm not gonna do it again, okay? _Relax_."

"Okay," Stephen relents. "I'll step off. I'll go talk to your mother outside. Take care." He pauses at the doorway and says, "I don't know you, but I know that your family loves you a lot. They would be so upset if you do it." He leaves the ward without waiting for Peter to reply.

Claire sees him walk out and says, "Let's go, Stephen. Thank you for at least considering the idea, Meredith. I wish your son a speedy recovery."

"Thank you for offering," Meredith says. She smiles at Stephen -- it's a very sweet smile. Stephen's heart aches for this family. She waves goodbye and Claire and him leave the hospital. Claire soon parts ways with him to go back to her clinic and Stephen stops to grab a newspaper from a newsstand, accidentally bumping into someone else there.

"Sorry," Stephen apologises, picking up the dropped newspaper. "Oh, it's wet now. I'm sorry, I'll pay for it."

"No, it's fine. I'll pay," the man says. "I'm Mordo."

"Stephen," he replies. Mordo's fairly handsome, actually.

While Mordo pays for the dirtied paper, he says, "It's kind of forward, but I like to just go for it. Do you want to get some coffee?"

"Sure," Stephen says, smiling. "Why not?"

* * *

**OCTOBER, 2002**

"Stephen, you look awesome," Christine gushes. "Just need to cover up that face."

"Wow, thanks, Chris," Stephen says sarcastically. "I feel the love."

Christine rolls her eyes, helping put the mask over his face, "Perfect Phantom. The party is going to be great, okay? I hear it's fun."

"You can thank me for that," Mordo laughs, cleaning up his costume. "You look handsome, Steph."

"Thanks, honey," Stephen replies, accepting the kiss on his cheek from Mordo. Mordo had a friend of a friend who invited him to a Halloween party held by a guy named Talos. The moment Mordo told them about the party, Christine immediately suggested going as Phantom of the Opera characters. Wong immediately agreed, knowing Stephen would actively disagree. Though dramatic, Stephen isn't the most theatrical.

===

"Woah, a lot of superheroes," Wong comments after Talos lets them in. "We just walked in and already I see three Batmen."

"If we're the only ones as Phantom characters, I'm fine with that," Christine says.

"It's a genius costume idea," Mordo compliments.

Stephen sighs, "Genius, but ridiculous. I can barely see out of this mask." Christine says something about going to get them drinks, only to disappear for good. Mordo walks off to talk to someone dressed as a character he liked.

Wong asks, "Why don't you go talk to someone? Don't people do that at parties?"

Stephen replies, "I wouldn't know who to start with."

Wong scopes the crowd before saying, "That Miss Peregrine looks cool."

Stephen watches her talking to a man and declines, "She looks like she's trying to get that guy into bed, I'm not about to ruin her night."

His best friend rolls his eyes as he suggests, "The Anakin Skywalker and Han Solo out on the balcony."

Stephen and Wong peer out the glass doors to see the two men. Though, when Han Solo starts leaning closer, Stephen immediately says, "Okay. Again, I'm not gonna be a cockblocker."

"Come on," Wong says. "I'm not saying flirt with anyone. I know you've got Mordo. Just make some new friends. I can count the number of friends you have on one hand."

"Friends aren't everything," Stephen defends. "Quality over quantity."

"Anyway, the Han Solo kind of dipped from that kiss," Wong points out while looking at the balcony. Stephen looks again and he's right. Han says something and walks back into the party, Anakin muttering to himself before following him in.

They walk by too quickly for Stephen to say anything or see his face, so decides to give up and look for Mordo or Christine. He spots her talking to two women dressed as Princess Daisy and Princess Peach. As Stephen navigates through the crowd to get to Christine, he narrowly gets out of the way of a man in a Darth Vader costume. When he reaches Christine, he says, pointing him out, "That Darth Vader is so cool. I should have come as a Star Wars character."

"Well, too bad. You're stuck as my Phantom," Christine smiles, linking arms with him. "The Darth Vader guy is really nice."

"Too bad I'm with Mordo," Stephen jokes. "Otherwise, I would ask you to introduce me."

Christine laughs, poking his arm, "You're not ready for someone so cool yet."

* * *

**JULY, 2003**

Stephen walks out of the doctor's office, sniffing. He takes a seat in one of the empty chairs, across from a black-haired woman in a leather jacket. Bored, he decides to start a conversation with her while he waits for his medicine, "What are you down with?"

"Nothing. I'm here with a friend whose dumb ass refused to see the doctor when he came down with a cold," she replies.

"Ah," Stephen says. "I've got a cold too."

"Stephen Strange," the clerk calls.

He smiles back at the woman and says, "Well, that's me. Bye."

She takes out her phone, nodding back to him, "Bye."

* * *

**FEBRUARY, 2004**

"Stephen, get these documents delivered to the clerk downstairs," Victor orders, passing him a file. Stephen nods, taking it from him and going through them to check for any errors. While Victor didn't specifically ask him to check, he's been his intern long enough to know it would be a mistake not to do it.

While he goes through the documents, he hears a man walk past him, saying, "Hey, nobody else could make it right now, so I'm here to take you back to your place. Thor let me use his car." The man wore a red leather jacket and walked to another man he couldn't see from where he was standing. He can only see that his left arm was in a cast.

"At least I've got you," the man replies.

The red jacketed man says, "I've got some music in the car so we're gonna have a fun drive home. Come on."

_Must be his boyfriend_, Stephen thinks to himself, paying no mind to them as they walk away to the elevator. It made him miss his ex, Mordo. They broke up in January because Mordo just got interested in other things and didn't have time for Stephen anymore. His gaze unconsciously follows them to the elevator and he briefly sees their faces right before the doors shut. He recognised the one wearing a red jacket, but his photographic memory didn't catch a long enough look at his face to recall who it is.

* * *

**APRIL, 2005**

"You're buying the place?"

"Maybe," Clea says, sipping her tea. "The agent told me there's a man from New York who's eyeing it too, but she told me today that something happened and she doesn't think he's coming back for the place. Now that he's out of the running, I just might buy it."

Wong asks, "Where is it again?"

Clea answers, "Los Angeles."

"Why do you think he doesn't want the place?" Stephen asks. "What if something's wrong with the apartment?"

"The place is fine, the problem's with him. I don't have all the details, obviously. But she said the New Yorker was on the verge of buying the apartment when this black haired guy ran in, telling him to stop. The agent said she could hear some of their conversation from the other side of the door, the guy was asking him to go back home to New York, that he and this other guy belong together or something. Then she left, but she said the New Yorker told her he wasn't buying the place," Clea explains.

"This is so dramatic," Wong complains. "Then again, I should be used to that. I'm friends with the most dramatic white man in New York."

"Excuse _you_, the most dramatic white man in New York is the one in Clea's story," Stephen scoffs.

Wong sighs, shaking his head, "Birds of a feather."

* * *

**SEPTEMBER, 2005**

Stephen walks into the tech store, pulling his green jacket around himself a little tighter. It's getting colder by the day, especially this late at night, and he knows he's going to have to switch out the jacket for a coat soon enough. Why the late visit? Stephen's laptop charger finally reached its limit and broke. He would wait until the next afternoon to get it, but he had a document due the next morning and desperately needs his laptop alive.

He heads straight for the charger section, checking each one to see which is the best and cheapest option. Though money isn't really a big concern for Stephen, he didn't see a point in paying more for something when you can get something even better for a lower price. He gets distracted by a blonde man, the next aisle over, murmuring to himself. Stephen tries to ignore him, but then the man walks over, asking, "Sorry, are you good with tech?" 

"I'm alright," Stephen answers. "Can I help you?"

"My boyfriend's Walkman won't play his cassettes properly. He doesn't know yet, because I borrowed it to listen earlier this evening and realised it's kind of broken. It's slow and distorted... I want to get it fixed without him knowing," the man explains. "It's just that I don't know the first thing about a Walkman."

"I do, I used to have one when I was a kid," Stephen says, taking the device from the man and looking it over. "It looks fine to me... Maybe it's just getting old. This is literally the first generation of a Walkman. Impressive, by the way."

The man sighs, "No, it's worked fine his whole life. His mom has had it since it first came out."

"Then why not just buy him a new one?" Stephen asks. "Just tell him it's come of age and get a new one. If he wants this exact model, they're not gonna be cheap since it's so old, but you can do that, right?"

"No," the man replies, getting frustrated with his situation. "It has to be _this_ one."

Stephen is a little put off by his attitude, "Bit inflexible of you... It's just a Walkman."

The man shakes his head, "Sorry if I sounded uncooperative or anything. It's just that this is one of the last gifts his mother ever gave to him."

Stephen realises what he means by that and he quickly says, "I'm sorry. If I'd known, I wouldn't have said that."

"No, maybe I should have explained at first," the man says. "My name is Thor, by the way."

"Stephen," Stephen says. He looks around for an idea and his gaze falls on the ceiling sign that reads 'CHARGERS'. "Um, well... Why don't you try changing the battery? Maybe it's getting low on power."

Thor gets the back off and looks at the batteries, "I've never been in this shop before, do you know where the batteries are?"

"Yeah, I'll take you to them," Stephen says, deciding he has time to spare before getting the laptop charger. Thor thanks him and the two walk through the shelves to get to the batteries. Stephen makes conversation, "He means a lot to you if you're doing this for him."

"Are you kidding? Peter is my whole world," Thor says. Stephen kind of wishes he had the same glint of pure adoration in Thor's eyes. "I love him more than anything."

"It must be nice to love someone so much," Stephen says, stopping in front of the batteries.

As Thor sifts through the different batteries, checking it against the ones in the Walkman, he replies, "It's nice, but also stressful."

"Stressful like?"

"Stressful like you're scared that anything you say is going to ruin it. Not because you don't trust them to love you, but because you just don't know if you really deserve someone like that," Thor elaborates. "Sometimes I just worry that I'm not gonna be good enough for him."

"You're in a tech shop at 3 in the morning because his Walkman ran out of battery. I'm sure you're more than good enough for him," Stephen assures. "Is this relationship new? I can't think of any reason why you would be this stressed out about it."

Thor pauses, hand frozen on the battery he's looking for, before he turns around, admitting, "Yeah, we started dating just last year. And maybe a year is quite long to other people, but it feels like days because... He's just so special to me and every minute with him doesn't feel like a minute at all." Thor takes the batteries and says after a moment of thought, "I think I'm going to marry him."

Stephen laughs, "Maybe wait another year or two before talking about that."

Thor shakes his head, "I mean, it's not like I'm going to ask him tomorrow or anything. It just feels right, you know, when I imagine him being the guy I end up marrying someday."

"Don't we all feel that way in a relationship, though?" Stephen asks. "When you've been dating someone for a while, you always feel like they're it. Then they end up proving you wrong."

"Isn't that the beautiful thing? You never know for sure," Thor says, that kind of grin on his face like he has touched heaven and hasn't come down since. "But there's something telling me that I'm going to marry Peter Quill someday."

_Didn't I meet him before?_ Stephen thinks, though outwardly, he smiles at Thor's optimism and just how in love he is, and says, "That Peter Quill is one lucky man."

"I think that lucky man would be me," Thor replies. "Thank you for helping me out and talking with me. I'm sorry for holding you up."

"No, it's fine. I'm glad to help. Hope the batteries fix the Walkman," Stephen says.

"Goodnight, Stephen. Thank you again," Thor says.

Before he walks away to pay for the batteries, Stephen says, "Wait. Um, just so I know. Since you seem to have good luck in that department, how do you have so much faith in your boyfriend and you working out?"

Thor glances up at the ceiling, forming an answer, before he replies, "I don't know. Nobody can ever know how to get it all to work out, really... But when you meet the right person, it just does." Thor waves goodbye and leaves to buy the batteries, leaving Stephen alone with his thoughts walking back to the chargers.

* * *

**FEBRUARY, 2006**

"You excited for your first day at university?" Christine jokes.

Stephen almost sighs loudly. Yes, he loved neurology and he loved studying -- studying is fun when you have photographic memory. But who wants to get up early in the morning to listen to some professor talk for four hours straight? He replies, "Sure."

"Come on. It'll be awesome. Us two against whatever evil lecturer's in store for us," she grins, hooking her arm through his. After getting seated, a dark-haired man walks in and places his suitcase down on the table. Christine looks at her folder and asks, "Hey, I don't know if it's just me, but isn't our professor called Susan Storm?"

"Hey, I'm Tony Stark, from Stark Industries," the man introduces. "I was asked here to give a talk about nanotech, so let's just dive right in."

"Well, almost the same number of letters," Christine jokes. "I'm pretty sure he's in the wrong class."

"Hey, I know that name," Stephen says. "I just... don't know where."

"He just said Stark Industries. It's a well-known engineering company," a boy in front of them whispers. "It's so cool that he's here but... this isn't the right class."

"I'm getting second-hand embarrassment," Christine whispers, stifling a laugh.

"At least he's hot," Stephen says. "Too bad he's a fool."

Christine giggles and slaps his arm, "Stephen!"

He grins, spinning his pen between his fingers, "What? It's true. Also, this is actually kind of interesting."

Tony talks about how to store nanobots in a unit and Christine nods, "Not gonna lie, it's making me want to switch courses."

"Right?" Stephen agrees.

It's a few minutes after that that a blonde woman walks in and asks, "Sorry, who are you?"

Tony frowns and replies, "Tony, I was invited to give a lecture on nanotech..."

She walks down the steps the whole way and talks quietly with him out of earshot. A minute later, Tony is out of the classroom. Christine laughs quietly, "Poor guy."

* * *

**APRIL, 2006**

"My boyfriend's coming over," Christine says, looking up from her phone.

Stephen grins, putting his lightsaber bookmark into his book, "Can I meet him?"

"No. Stay in my room, don't come out until he leaves," Christine demands, doing her hair in the vanity. Stephen frowns.

"Why?"

She replies, "Because I'm not ready to have him meet my friends yet."

"Okay, boss," Stephen concedes defeat. A few minutes after Christine left the room, he hears the front door open.

"So, this is your place," a man's voice says. Stephen hears his shoes on the wood-tiled flooring. His voice is familiar. _Where have I heard it before?_

"Yep. My roommate's out right now. I think she's out with friends, partying," Christine replies. Clea was out at a bachelorette party. Because she frequently did work as a wedding planner since she liked planning events, she was sometimes invited to the afterparty. Clea is very likeable, so Stephen isn't really surprised that she's invited to most. The only times she isn't invited is if the couple wanted to keep the wedding personal. She didn't mind not getting invited.

"Nice, hope she has fun," the man says. He hears some shuffling before the man continues to speak, "Hey, didn't know you were a Star Wars fan. I know you recognised me as Darth Vader but you said you didn't watch the movies." He must have seen his bookmark. What does he mean Darth Vader?

"Oh, that's not mine. My friend visited and left it," Christine explains. Stephen hears the book being set down on the coffee table.

"Okay... You should watch Star Wars, though. It's awesome," the man says.

Stephen whispers to himself, "That's what I've been trying to get her to do."

"Maybe," Christine says. Stephen notes the lack of enthusiasm in her response.

The man says, "AC/DC? I love them!" _Must have spotted my AC/DC disc._

"That's... my friend's too," Christine says. Stephen presses his lips together at how awkward it just got.

"Oh." The sound of the CD case being placed back down. Stephen visibly winces at the tension.

"I can't believe it. An entire apartment full of my things and you point out the only two things that aren't mine. Not even my _roommate's._ I've been trying to find a common thread between us but it's time I stop lying to myself and admit it. We don't have _anything_ in common," Christine says.

"Sorry." _Ouch. Too awkward_.

Christine's voice is flat as she says, "Get out."

Once he hears the front door close, Stephen emerges and asks rhetorically, "That went over well, didn't it?"

She sighs and says, "It was gonna end sooner or later anyway... Our common interests only really ended at Science. And even that, we're not even in the same field. I do neurology and he does engineering and chemistry."

"And yet, chemistry is where you happen to lack," Stephen jokes. At Christine's pointed glare, he raises his hands in surrender, "Sorry. Take it back."

"Wait a second," Stephen says, walking over to the green jacket on the coat rack. "Hey, this is mine. The 'S', this shade of green. I lost this at Bruce's party years ago. You had it this whole time?"

"No. This is the first I'm seeing it," Christine frowns. "Maybe he left it behind when he left. Well, if it's yours then there's no use chasing him down to return it." Stephen pulls it back on so he won't forget to bring it home with him. _What are the odds, huh?_

* * *

**AUGUST, 2006**

"How was your new client?" Wong asks as Clea comes into Christine's apartment. Stephen and Wong are there; Stephen to revise with Christine and Wong to hang out.

Clea beams, setting down her hot pink bag on the table and sitting down next to Stephen, "Wonderful. I love them. They're this gay couple who wants to have a space-themed wedding."

"Aw," Christine grins. "I wish them the best."

Clea takes out the large folder from her bag and opens it up -- it's still quite empty, spare the few sheets she had gotten from Stark, from the previous planner. She says, "The previous guy only did the cake and reception theme before he got fired, so I've got a lot to do. They're aiming for a December wedding and I really want to secure a Christmas date."

Wong frowns, "Won't Christmas be hard to get? It's a popular date."

Clea nods, "Yeah, which is why I want to get it for them. They're actually so cute that I want to do this."

Stephen chuckles, "Is it safe to say this is your favourite client?"

"Yes!" Clea answers, clicking her pen to write more notes for the wedding planning. Stephen takes a break from his notes and reads her notes, where the couple's name and her employer were stated. Peter Quill and Thor Odinson, and she was hired by Tony Stark.

Stephen recognises the names. Peter Quill, the guy who Claire and he took to the hospital years ago, and the boyfriend of Thor, the guy who Stephen helped with on a Walkman. Assuming it's the same Thor, anyway. It has to be, Thor isn't a common name and neither is the surname Quill. And Tony Stark... the name on the Acknowledgements page of _Partial Differential Equations_ by Christopher C. Tisdell, the book he found at the airport. Though, Tony is also a common name and nickname, so it could easily be a different Tony Stark. There's just no way it's the same one.

* * *

**DECEMBER, 2006**

Stephen flips to the page he'd last stopped, making himself comfortable in his seat as the train began to move. He'd slept through the alarm he set the night before and is now on the late train to Missouri. Him, Christine, Wong and Clea had a great Christmas planned and Wong made him promise not to be late. _Oops_.

It's until the third paragraph when a dark-haired woman takes the seat in the other column, one row in front of him. She looks tired. _And familiar_. Stephen watches her rummage through her bag before sighing in irritation, looking around. When she doesn't find what she's looking for, she turns to Stephen and asks, "Unlikely, but is there a food car on this train? I skipped breakfast and I regret it."

Stephen smiles, shaking his head, "No food car, but I have some sandwiches. I hope you like ham and cheese."

"I love ham and cheese," the woman says. She moves to the seat next to him as Stephen takes out his lunch box and hands one of the sandwiches he'd packed to her. He'd brought more than enough, so he didn't mind giving her a few if she wanted more. She introduces, "Thanks for the sandwich. I'm Jessica."

"Stephen," he replies. Jessica narrows her eyes at him.

"Didn't I see you somewhere before?" she asks. "You look familiar but I can't put my finger on it."

Stephen fills in, photographic memory kicking in, "We met at a clinic, in 2003."

"Oh shit, yeah. You had a cold," Jessica says, remembering.

"What a small world," Stephen smiles. "Are you late for something?"

"A wedding," Jessica sighs once more, taking a bite of the sandwich. "My two friends are finally getting married after years of dancing around their relationship and now I'm going to be late."

"I'm sure you'll make it in time for the ceremony," Stephen says encouragingly. "Years of dancing around?"

Jessica snorts, taking another sandwich that Stephen offers to her, "They spent so long just being idiots in love and never did anything about it. Wrong times, wrong places, I guess. But they're getting married today, so good for them. What about you?"

"Late for Christmas at my friend's place," Stephen answers. "We rented a little place in Missouri for the Christmas weekend and she made me promise not to be late. Sorry, Wong."

Jessica smirks, saying, "Well, Christmas is Christmas no matter the time."

"You're right about that," Stephen agrees. "Who are your friends getting married?"

"Peter and Thor," Jessica answers. "Wanna make it better? I'm Peter's best man, and I'm late for the wedding."

_So it was the same Peter Quill and Thor Odinson,_ Stephen thinks, remembering the conversation with the blonde stranger desperately finding batteries for his boyfriend's Walkman at 3 in the morning. He thought about mentioning that his friend Clea planned the wedding. Then again, she probably knows, but likely not interested.

"_Oh no_," Stephen says instead of voicing his thoughts, earning a laugh from Jessica. They spent the whole train ride talking about what they've been up to, sharing funny stories and talking more about their Christmas plans. If Tony is mentioned in passing, neither of them remembered.

===

"I'm leaving," Stephen says, pulling on his green jacket.

Clea frowns, "Stay a little longer. It's Christmas. You're in no hurry."

"I would agree, but my job demands that I be back. Accidents don't have off days," Stephen replies. "I'll call you guys in the morning."

"See you tomorrow!" Christine says, pressing a kiss to Stephen's cheek as goodbye. With a wave, Stephen leaves Clea's rented house and leaves for the train station, buying himself a ticket back to New York. He was a few people behind the front of the counter and checks his phone -- he'll be back in New York before 8PM, at least. Victor won't get to kill him tonight.

"One ticket back to New York, thanks," the man at the front says.

A few minutes later and it's Stephen's turn. He buys a New York ticket and gets to his seat, pulling out his medical files to read over before he gets back to work.

* * *

**JANUARY, 2007**

"Can't believe I lost the keychain. I'm sorry," Stephen apologises.

Clea sighs, "Well, can't do anything about that anymore, right? We'll just see if it pops up somewhere. Sometimes you lost things and turns out, you had it the whole time."

"But I really liked it. I don't know how it could have possibly dropped," Stephen laments.

Wong shrugs, "Maybe the key ring got loose. It happens."

"Listen, Stephen. Sometimes things just get lost," Christine says. "But the things that are meant to stay with you forever, you'll always find it again."

> "And he did find it again. He'll find it again in December."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kudos/comments appreciated <3


	45. 9x7: How I Met Your Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end.

> "We're here. December 2007. How do you feel?"
> 
> "Finally," James says. "We're _finally_ gonna know the ending."
> 
> "Start telling the story already, Dad," Morgan says, leaning forward.
> 
> "Okay, okay. So you remember that your cousin Meredith was born in October. When December rolled around, everyone was excited for it. Meredith is the first baby in our friend group, so we wanted to give her an epic first Christmas. Which means me, Jessica, Matt, Carol and Val were all competing to get her the best present."
> 
> "Dad, you literally got her a car for her 21st," James laments. "Will I get a car for my birthday?"
> 
> "Why don't you wait till your birthday to find out? Anyway..."

* * *

**DECEMBER, 2007**

* * *

"Hi, Thor!" Val greets excitedly, hugging him. Ever since Meredith arrived at the apartment, the friend group was lucky if they even saw Peter or Thor for more than five minutes at a time. They never left their daughter alone -- she's only two months old, of course they won't -- so they either came down with her or one of them will stay upstairs with her. "I miss you so much."

"Hey," Thor replies, returning the hug before sitting down with her and Carol. Frank and Tony sit across from them, and Loki is on his phone in an extra chair.

Frank frowns, "Where's Quill?"

"Which one? I'm right here," Thor jokes. "Just kidding. That was lame. He's upstairs. Christmas is coming up and he never had a good one in his childhood, so he's determined to make her first, a good one."

Carol's eyes light up, "Oh my God, it's her first. I want to get her an incredible present."

"Not if I get the more incredible present," Tony challenges.

"Matt could pick a better present than both of you in his sleep," Frank says flatly.

> "He didn't, by the way. It was hilarious to see Frank eat his words. Anyway, I was at Val's apartment after that, helping her with setting up Christmas decorations. Carol and Val never have anyone over for holidays, but they liked decorating. Carol was at Asgard at the time so I offered to help."

"I can't believe it's gonna be 2008 next month," Val comments, hanging a stocking over the fireplace. "It feels like yesterday when it was just you, me, Thor and Jess, and we were making bets on who you were gonna marry."

"Time is something else," Tony mumbles, putting up a wreath on the back of the door. "There's no time to breathe in between."

"I really admire you," Val suddenly says.

Tony looks at her from across the living room, questioning, "Why?"

Val rambles, "I can never move on. I never got over losing my ex-girlfriend to a mugging, or when my parents left me with their close friends and ran off."

"Those are huge things, Val. Of course you couldn't," Tony says comfortingly.

"I know, but I wish I could. Like you said, time doesn't give us time to breathe, but you... I've known you for a long time, Tony. I know every time you didn't think you could come back from your setbacks. It's the thing about you I've always admired... you never stay down for long. Things fall apart and you put it back together. That's life, you know. And you have had your life destroyed and repaired so many times since I have met you in that bar for the past nine years. But you always get back up," Val says. "I saw you at the wedding. When it's time to move on, you move on. And I really admire you for that."

"I was never big on moving on," Tony says quietly. "I mean, if you saw me at the wedding, then you know. I couldn't get over Peter, not until after he was married. I still cry at night because I miss my mom."

"I know, and I think moving on was this huge lesson you've spent nine years learning," she says, hanging paper cut-outs of gingerbread men on the kitchen cabinets. "Look, 1999 you would have been sad that Peter has a kid with someone else, but 2007 you? You gave up the apartment you bought for her, got her an expensive stroller... You love her like your own because you moved on."

> "It may have been a nine year lesson, but it was a lesson nonetheless. One of the ones I had to learn before I could meet your father. Moving on takes different times for different people. I took a week to get over a girl I dated in M.I.T.. I spent four years getting over Peter. But I had to go through that to learn it. That's life."

* * *

**=== AUGUST, 2022 ===**

"Hi, Uncle Tony, Stephen," Meredith greets as Tony walks into the apartment.

"Hey, kiddo," Tony smiles, running a hand through her hair. James peers around the apartment, immediately going over to play with Meredith's lightsaber. Morgan holds Stephen's hand, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Tony says, "Morgan napped in the car so she's still kinda knocked out right now."

"She can sleep in my room, if she needs to do so," Meredith offers.

Stephen takes Morgan to Meredith's room, thanking her as he walks away. When he comes back, Morgan put to bed, Thor greets them both with a hug. He says, "James is so big now!"

"Don't overestimate me," James frowns, swinging the lightsaber. He trips slightly, not used to the weight of it. Meredith runs over to help him with it.

"Overestimate would mean you're very small," Stephen explains.

James pauses and corrects, "_Under_estimate."

"Okay, Jedi," Peter laughs, raising his hands in surrender. "Go easy on me."

James hold out a hand toward him and Peter pretends to choke. Meredith and Tony cheer James on as Peter kneels on the ground, gasping for air. Thor shakes his head, turning to Stephen and asking, "Why did we marry them?"

"I haven't the faintest idea," Stephen replies. "I just know there's something about that stupid face."

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

Tony walks into the workshop to see Hope van Dyne present with Rocket and Peter Parker. Peter's busy at work on a component while Rocket is looking over blueprints. Hope is talking to Peter about science. Tony greets, "Hey, everyone."

"Hi, Tony," Hope smiles, walking over with a small parcel. "I won't be here for Christmas next week, I wanted to let you know."

Peter pipes up, "Miss van Dyne got me a --"

"Kid, we agreed not to talk about it, remember?" Hope cuts in, giving Peter a wink. Peter hides the gift under the table and nods.

"Oh, yeah. Right," he says. Tony narrows his eyes at him suspiciously and even Rocket frowns.

"What did she get you?" Tony asks, trying to look under the table.

Peter moves the gift out of his view and says, "Nothing. She got me nothing."

"Relax, nothing illegal. Just something I sneaked out of Pym Tech's lab," Hope assures. "I thought you weren't dropping by today. I was gonna leave this with Happy."

"Yeah, I came just to tell Peter that he doesn't need to come in for the rest of December. You can come back in January," Tony says. "Paid vacation. Have fun, take your aunt somewhere. Buy MJ a nice dinner."

Peter's eyes light up and he hugs Tony, "Thank you, Mr Stark. This means so much to me."

Tony hugs back, "Don't worry about it, kid. Catch a break. The work you've done here as just an intern is great. If you wanna work here after graduating, I'll hire you. Are you going to college after high school?"

"I would like to, but I also wanna work here," Peter says indecisively. "I like being here in the workshop. Mr Rocket's really fun too."

"He once called me the 'fun uncle'. Worst thing I've ever been called," Rocket jeers.

Tony replies Peter, "Well, if you want to go to college, I wouldn't mind helping with tuition if you need it. And I can work around your schedule so your Stark Industries hours won't coincide. Sound good?"

"Sounds awesome. Thank you so much," Peter grins excitedly, walking off to tell MJ the exciting news.

Hope smiles at Tony and says, "I'll be off, then. Happy Holidays, Tony."

"Happy Holidays. Have a good time," Tony says. She waves and leaves.

Rocket asks, "Are you going to see Peter and Thor after this?"

Tony nods, "Yeah, Matt and I wanted to check up on them. Now that Meredith's two months old, we barely see them in MacLaren's anymore. Pretty sure they need a break from being parents."

Rocket agrees, offering, "I'll come with. I want to see them and the kid. Maybe we can, I don't know, take her on a walk or something."

"Rocket being kind? Unheard of," Tony smirks, teasing. Rocket punches his arm jokingly.

"Piss off."

* * *

"Hey," Matt greets as Tony unlocks the apartment door. The place is mostly a mess. Thor's busy picking up some clothes off the floor and Peter walks over, daughter in his arms.

"Hey, nice to see you," Peter says. "Sorry for the mess. Be careful, Matt."

Tony walks Matt over to the couch, helping him avoid toys and clothing on the floor. Tony mumbles, "Holy shit. When I have a kid, I am 100% not letting my house get this chaotic."

**=== MARCH, 2014 ===**

"Tony, you better find James."

"James!" Tony calls out, exhausted. "Come on, kid. Help Daddy out a little."

Stephen walks out with baby Morgan in his arms. She's drowsy with sleep, thankfully not being a hassle. Stephen says tiredly, "I told you not to play hide and seek with him. You know he knows all the secret spots in this house."

"Yeah, but I thought I found all the secret spots already," Tony defends. "James, if you don't come out here in the next ten seconds, I'll sell away all your toys."

Stephen shakes his head and smiles, passing Morgan to Tony carefully so he doesn't wake her. He grabs the Batman mask Tony bought for James a year ago and straps it on, calling out in a comically deep voice, "Where's the Justice League?"

Suddenly, James runs out, a gold tiara in his hair. He excitedly replies, "I'm here, Batman!"

Stephen scoops him up as he runs into his direction, asking, "Where did you hide this time, Wonder Woman?"

James answers, pointing, "In Daddy's special mecher table."

"_Mechanics_ table," Tony corrects.

"He's two," Stephen points out, amused.

"And _so smart,"_ Tony coos, pinching James' nose as he laughs. "You're gonna be something really great someday."

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

"This chaos is kind of inevitable," Thor says. "We had it under control when all she could do was shit, eat and sleep. But now she eats a lot and poops a lot, but refuses to sleep. Keeps crying, we don't know what's setting it off. We work on alternate days so one of us is always here."

Peter bounces Meredith in his arms slightly, adding on, "I slept for four hours total this week."

"You really need a break," Matt says, concerned.

"You ever thought of hiring a nanny?" Rocket asks.

Peter replies, "We did, especially since we both work at night, but she's so young and honestly, we don't want to let her out of our sight, especially if she's going to be left with a complete stranger."

"Reasonable," Matt nods. "What about a close friend?"

"I was telling Tony earlier, we could take her for a walk, bond with her or whatever, and you two can take a nap or... whatever you're missing out on," Rocket says. He knows exactly what they're missing out on if they're never both resting at the same time, but he didn't think any of the men needed him to say it out loud.

"Would you?" Thor asks.

"We totally could. I want some quality time with that little spaceface," Matt smiles.

Rocket carefully takes Meredith from Peter's arms, saying, "Relax, we’ll take care of Meredith. You two can take a breather."

"We love her, we really do, but..." Thor trails off.

Tony says knowingly, "It’s nice to get a break."

Peter nods, saying honestly, "Yeah, exactly. We literally haven’t banged since she was born. We’re _desperate_."

"It's kind of obvious how desperate you are," Rocket mutters, making both men turn red.

"Thank you. You've no idea how much this means to us," Thor says.

Matt smiles, "It's no trouble, you two. We wanna get our Meredith time, anyway."

"What an angel," Rocket mutters almost incoherently, lifting Meredith up as he pouts at her.

"I have never seen Rocket like this," Peter says quietly, amazed. "Meredith is magical."

Thor nods to the baby's room, saying to Tony, "I have something to tell you." Tony nods, following Thor to the room, leaving Peter, Matt and Rocket in the living room with Meredith. When Tony moved out, he left a burgundy-painted cot for the baby. Now, the walls are covered with a nice pastel blue, and a solar system crib mobile hangs over it from the ceiling. He remembered Carol excitedly telling him she was going to get that for Meredith when she was born. It's nice to see it used.

"What did you need?" Tony asks once Thor closes the door behind them.

"Peter and I were filling out some information for Meredith the other day and we got to the godparent section," Thor says. "Not that we think the others don’t, but not only have we both known you the longest out of everyone else, but Meredith really likes you. She gets really happy whenever you swing by."

"Why wouldn't she? I'm a treasure," Tony jokes.

Thor laughs before saying, "But that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Would you be willing to be her godfather?"

It's a long quiet moment after that as Tony processes it. He can hear Peter laughing loudly at something Rocket said, faintly through the wall. He finally says, "Me?"

"Yeah, you. If you don’t want to, it’s okay, we can just ask —"

"Yes," Tony accepts. "I would be honoured, Thor. Thank you." He brings him into a hug and Thor grins, returning it.

"On one condition," Thor adds, though obviously a joke. "Peter and I can be your kids godparents."

Tony thinks it over before saying, "Why not?"

"Wait, really?" Thor asks, surprised. "I thought you would be kind of hesitant because of our rocky history..."

"I'm over it," Tony answers honestly. "It took me a while to get, but my pride always kept me from the most important lesson of all -- it's not about me. It has never been about me. I think I've learnt over the past nine years that sometimes, getting to the end of my story means making way for someone else's first. Yours."

Thor smiles and says, "I'm really glad that you're my friend, Tony. Truly. Meredith's gonna have an awesome godfather."

**=== JUNE, 2008 ===**

"You can leave her with us," Stephen assures, taking Meredith from Thor. "I'll keep an eye on her."

"Thank you, Stephen," Thor says. "Peter's been kind of anxious about leaving Edith behind, but we were worried the plane ride would get her too cranky or she'll get sick too easily. London isn't the..."

"The cleanest, yeah," Stephen nods, cradling Meredith. "Edith is a cute nickname. When did you come up with that?"

Thor smiles, answering, "Tony's intern, Parker, he came to see her a few weeks ago for the first time. Misheard her name and called her Edith and now it's stuck."

Stephen nods, running a gentle hand through Meredith's soft blonde hair. It curled the slightest bit at the ends, reminding him of Peter's hair, though the colour resembled Thor's more. He promises, "I won't let Tony anywhere near her."

Thor laughs, "You would be a better godfather than Tony."

Tony comes up behind Stephen, frowning, "I am an awesome godfather, I'll have you know."

"To-ny, To-ny," Meredith babbles, reaching for him. Tony takes her from Stephen and sticks his tongue out at him.

"See, Meredith's smart. She knows," Tony says, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Tony's the better godfather."

"Sounds more like she's saying toe knee," Stephen jokes. Tony scoffs.

"You're just jealous she likes me more," Tony says. "Stick around longer than a year and maybe she'll love you more."

Stephen smirks, "Is that a challenge, Stark?"

Tony smiles, "I don't know. Is it?"

Thor cuts in before the conversation continues and says, "Well, I need to go now if we're gonna catch the London flight."

"I wish they invited us, though," Tony says. "But pass on my congratulations."

"Yeah, Mantis wanted to, but she agreed with Nebula to keep it just family," Thor replies. "Take care of her. Call us if anything happens. You have the emergency numbers. You --"

"We know, we know. You emailed, texted and wrote it down for me. We've got her," Tony assures. "Enjoy the wedding."

"Thank you," Thor says, leaving Tony's porch.

Tony closes the door and Stephen says, tickling Meredith's stomach while Tony is still holding her, "She's so damn cute."

"Yeah," Tony smiles, watching her giggle and take Stephen's finger in her tiny fist. "Can't wait to have a kid of my own."

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

"We'll leave you be, then. Get some rest," Matt says, as he, Rocket and Tony prepare to leave. "We'll be back with her around 5PM tonight."

"Thank you, guys," Peter says. "Call us if anything happens."

Rocket nods, putting Meredith into the expensive stroller Tony got for them, saying, "We know. That's standard stuff. We'll be fine."

After they're gone from the apartment, Peter exhales and shuts his eyes, saying, "Wow, I didn't think closing my eyes for longer than two seconds would feel this good."

"We have six hours to ourselves," Thor says, relieved.

"Finally, some alone time," Peter mumbles, pulling Thor into a kiss. "Thor Odinson, I'll make a dishonest man of you yet."

Thor grins -- he's so stupid in love, he can't believe it -- and replies, "You can make me whatever you like. I'm all yours."

* * *

"Tony, have you thought of what to get Meredith for Christmas?" Matt asks.

Tony says, "I'm not sure yet. You?"

"Frank and I are getting her one of those princess tents," Matt answers. "We're trying to find a Star Wars themed one. Please tell me none of the others are getting something Star Wars related because that would bum me out so much."

"Hate to break it to you, Murdock. Jones and Arocho are getting her a Chewie onesie and a lightsaber," Rocket says, evil grin on his face.

Matt laments, "Now we have to find something else."

"You could always get her a green lightsaber. They're getting her a blue one," Rocket says, just teasing Matt.

They walk into a small bakery for a quick snack and Matt requests, "Sorry, Rocket. Can I talk to Tony alone?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure," he says, taking the stroller from Tony and bringing Meredith to look at fairy cakes. They can hear her babbling 'rocky' over and over.

"Seems like she's the only one allowed to call him Rocky," Tony smiles.

Matt chuckles, "Yeah. He's got a soft spot for her." After a moment, he says, "I wanted to know if you're alright. Past nine years haven't been easy, especially for you."

"I'm okay," Tony says.

Matt nods in the direction of Rocket and Meredith's voices, asking, "Even with her?"

"Yeah, I think I found peace with it," Tony says. "I'm happy for them, and I'm happy about their daughter. Genuinely. I guess I just kind of feel like a failure. I thought I was gonna be in their position by 2007, but here I am. No boyfriend or girlfriend, no kid. Feel like I'm failing in life."

"Oh, failing. Right. You mean by pulling yourself up out of crippling alcoholism over ten years ago and becoming a successful CEO? We should all fail so tragically," Matt says. "Listen, I'm pretty sure Jessica said this before and I always thought it was good advice. You can't skip ahead to where you think your life should be. Take it one day at a time. It's easier."

"When the day's biggest problem is just getting back home, I think I like taking life like that better," Tony agrees. "You know, at least no matter what happens, I just keep it to that one problem. Get home by the end of the day and you can deal with everything else next time. I can't spend the rest of my life calculating probabilities. It's gonna burn me out."

"The one thing in life you can't control... is life itself," Matt says. "You can't plan for it. Take it one day at a time."

"You're right," Tony nods. "Thanks for always doing this, Matt. Checking up on me."

Matt smiles, "Of course. You're my friend."

Tony asks, "What about you? What's new with your Supreme Court case?"

"We went for the final hearing two days ago," Matt says. "I wanted to wait till it's in the news to say anything, but I guess there's no harm in telling you. We won."

"You won?" Tony repeats loudly, eyes widening. Rocket looks over at them in bewilderment, but Tony doesn't care. "That's huge. Oh my God, you deserve this. You worked so hard on this case."

"Thank you," Matt laughs. "Jen's been celebrating all weekend."

"As she should. This is huge," Tony approves. "Seems like yesterday you were just sneaking answers in law exams, huh?"

Matt laughs, "Just like yesterday."

**=== SEPTEMBER, 2015 ===**

"It's okay, we'll deal with it tomorrow," Tony says, walking over to the car.

Stephen adjusts James in his arms, frowning, "That guy does not look like he's going to let it go. He knows where you work."

"Yeah, but so does my head of security," Tony replies, opening the passenger door so Stephen can get in with James.

Stephen continues, concerned, "He smashed the back window of the car because you parked in his usual space, Tony. How are you not worried about him finding you again tomorrow? He looks like he wants to follow us."

"Because it's not going to bother us tonight," he promises, starting up the car to drive away. "He's not gonna catch up, he's not gonna be able to follow us home. We're safe. If he shows up at work, then he'll show up. Happy will take him down."

"You can't control what you don't know is gonna happen," Stephen insists, stroking an anxious hand through James' hair.

Tony replies, "You can't control that, but you can control how you react. I'm gonna take it a day at a time. I can't spend my night worrying about him or I'm never gonna sleep."

"I don't feel good about this," Stephen mumbles, watching the man fade out of view in the rearview mirror. "Be safe."

"I promise," Tony says, reaching over for Stephen's hand to press a light kiss to his knuckles. "I'll be safe, honey. Just relax about it. It'll be fine."

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

"Didn't think I'd see you here," Jessica says, lifting her bottle in his direction. Tony sits opposite her in the booth, a non-alcoholic drink in his hand.

"I didn't think I'd see _you_ here," Tony replies. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Jessica says. "This is my happy drink."

Tony gives her an amused look, "You don't look very happy, though."

Jessica scoffs, "Not my fault that this is just my neutral expression." She holds out her hand towards him, saying, "I said yes to Oscar."

"Holy shit. Jess, that's amazing. Congratulations," Tony says. "What made you say yes?"

"The way I love him... I hate sounding all gooey and cheesy, but I'm pretty sure I'm never gonna feel like this about anyone else again," Jessica says, looking at the ring on her finger. "I never used to think I was a good person. But I must have been if someone like Oscar loves me."

Tony smiles, raising his glass to Jessica, who clinks it with her bottle. He says, "Jessica Jones, you are one amazing woman. Never let anyone tell you otherwise."

She returns the grin, an actual real grin, and says, "Peter's totally gonna be my best man, but do you mind being my second in command?"

"Second in command?"

"None of those obnoxious titles, please," Jessica rolls her eyes,

"I'd be honoured to be your second in command," Tony accepts.

"I better be your second in command when you get married," Jessica says.

"_If_ I get married," Tony replies.

Jessica mutters, "You will. You're the biggest lovesick fool I know. There's no way you're not gonna find that one person who's gonna click."

"How am I supposed to find my one true love in this huge world?" Tony mutters. "I feel like it's going nowhere. Nine years ago, I said I wanted to fall in love and since then, I've fallen in love multiple times but it has never ended well. Thor and Peter are married with a kid, you said yes to Oscar, Carol and Val are definitely gonna date forever, Matt has Frank, and yet I'm still here. How does the world expect me to find love? What's the answer?"

Jessica stares at him thoughtfully before she tears off a note from her case notebook, writing on it. When she's done, she says, "I wrote it down so you'll always remember it. Tony, for as long as I have known you, you have spent your life finding the answer to everything. You're the guy who calculated the probability of Matt walking through MacLaren's doors. You're the guy who wasted years trying to figure out why Peter loved someone else. You're the guy who became an engineer so you could build things to answer every unanswered problem in the world. You've been looking for the answer to life for a long time. Here it is."

Tony flips the note. It reads: _There is no answer._

> "She's right. There is no answer to life. Nobody knows why you're born or why you're here, and you will never be happy if you keep looking for it. If there were an answer to life, it's gonna be different for everyone. Morgan's answer is not gonna be the same as James. None of your uncles or aunts are gonna have the same answers. But as long as we ourselves know what it is, then that's enough. Any answer is a good one."

**=== APRIL, 2020 ===**

Tony opens the note in his drawer. It's white at the middle, having been folded again and again over the years. He knows what it says without reading it, but it's nice having the words in his hand sometimes.

_There is no answer_.

"Tony," Stephen calls.

"Daddy, Daddy!" Morgan shouts, running across the room. Tony places the note down on the table and picks her up, spinning her around.

"Hey, Morguna," Tony says, kissing her cheek. "It's past 10. Why are you up, huh?"

"She had some gummy worms and won't stop bouncing off the walls," Stephen shakes his head. He kisses Tony on the lips and says, "Don't stay up too late, dear."

Tony nods, accepting the kiss happily, "Yeah, I'll be in bed in a few."

Morgan looks up at him with her beautiful brown eyes, with that blissful little smile, and asks, "Can I sleep in your bed?"

"You have your own bed for a reason, Morgan," Tony says.

"Please," she pouts.

Stephen gives him that look. The look he gives when he's going to relent. Stephen says, "Just for tonight, okay? But only if you're back in your own bed tomorrow. We have a deal?"

"Yes!" she cheers, getting Tony to set her down so she can run to their bedroom. The both of their eyes widen when they hear Morgan shouting, "James! We can sleep in Dad and Daddy's bed!"

"I guess we're not getting any sleep tonight, are we?" Tony smiles, leaning against the table. His hands lands right on the note.

"My fault, totally sorry," Stephen says half-heartedly. "Come to bed."

"Yeah, give me a sec. I'll lock up the workshop," Tony says. Stephen nods and leaves the room, calling out for James and Morgan to wash up for bed. Tony looks back down at the note; _There is no answer._

It's a complete waste of time that he'd been pondering the question for his entire life. The answer had been here all along.

_The answer is Stephen_.

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

"Pete. I need your help," Tony says, pulling Peter out of his apartment into the hallway.

"What?" Peter asks.

"I wanna get Meredith the best present out of everyone’s, but I have no idea what to get a two-month-old," Tony explains.

Peter smiles, amused, "Thor's gonna be so surprised that you haven't gotten a present yet."

"I keep getting held up in meetings and I was worried Happy would get a wrong version or something, so I didn't ask him for help," Tony laments. "And then I was gonna get it yesterday, but I was stuck in a meeting because I overslept after spending the night with Jessica, and then I had a ton of paperwork from said meeting. And now I'm here, with no gift and Christmas tomorrow, with not even an idea."

Peter thinks out loud, "Well, for ideas, I would think something she could use for the rest of her life would be a pretty good present."

"Something for the rest of her life... Do you mind if it’s a science thing?" Tony asks.

"Not at all. I think it’ll be nice coming from you. She’ll always know this gift was yours," Peter smiles.

Tony nods to himself, deciding, "Okay, I’m thinking a telescope. What do you feel about it?"

"That would be awesome," Peter grins. "I'm actually heading out to San Fran to meet Rocket. You wanna come along, maybe get that telescope?"

> "When we got to San Francisco, we were pretty early, so he followed me into a science store there that I knew."

"Are the things here good?" Peter asks, looking around the store.

Tony answers, "Considerably high-end for affordable science equipment. Not excellent, but good for their price. Over there, the space things. Telescope."

Peter takes another telescope to look at, asking, "If I steal this to use while Meredith’s sleeping, would you be mad?"

"Hell no. First off, she's your kid. You can use whatever I get for her. Second, you are part of the reason I decided on a telescope. You know, sometimes I think about how you gave up your astronaut dream for your family. Both of you could use this... It’d be a nice bonding thing, I think," Tony says, reading over the side of the telescope's packaging to make sure it'll be good. "I'm gonna spruce this up a little bit for you, make it better."

"Thanks," Peter smiles. "By the way, Thor and I got you something. I was gonna wait till Christmas, but I think now's fine too." He takes out a small box out of his jacket pocket and passes it to Tony. "Custom made."

Tony opens the box and takes out the delicate necklace inside, looking at the circular pendant. There's a design that resembles the technology Tony works on in his lab, and the exterior white border has 'PROOF THAT TONY STARK HAS A HEART' on it.

Peter explains, "I think one of your greatest qualities is you're just... I don't know, really human. You've got more heart in you than anyone I know. Even if some people don't think you do."

"Thank you," Tony says, running his thumb over the words. _Proof that Tony Stark has a heart_. He loops it over his head, letting the pendant rest on his chest. When he looks back up, Peter is already distracted by a Van de Graaff, laughing to himself at his hair standing up. He moves to pay for the telescope and as Peter holds the door open for him, Tony looks back for a split second and sees a handsome man with black hair in a green jacket, looking at something he can't see.

Before he can decide if he should take a chance and try his luck, Peter swings the door closed and they start making their way down to Rocket's apartment.

**=== MAY, 2026 ===**

Meredith leans away from the telescope and points out different constellations to Morgan and James while Peter tells them about all sorts of cool space facts. Thor is out running errands, and Tony and Stephen are visiting.

"It's kind of nice seeing that telescope," Stephen says absent-mindedly. "That's the first time you saw me."

"God, I regretted not going back in to talk to you then," Tony groans. "Thank God I got a chance to talk to you."

Stephen grins at that, changing the subject, "You think our kids are going to love space?"

"Probably not as much as Meredith," Tony says. "Morgan's young, but she's got a knack for the workshop already. James... he likes writing. Remember how I said one of the freelance jobs Thor used to do was edit for local writers? Every time we visit Thor and Peter, James asks if he could edit. And James' creative writing in school does really well."

"Yeah," Stephen nods fondly. "Two engineers, a neurosurgeon and a writer."

"Sounds like a very boring sitcom," Tony jokes. Stephen only laughs that laugh he fell in love with, and kisses him until they're out of breath.

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

Peter sits down on the bench and Tony follows suit. The train station is considerably small and vacant. The clock on the wall read 7:30 in the evening. Their train is supposed to arrive in around twenty minutes or so. Peter says, "Thanks for the telescope, by the way. I mean, obviously, as such a nice first gift for Meredith, but also for what you said, that you got it because I never had something like this when I was a kid."

"You're one of my best friends, man. Of course," Tony says. "Enjoy the telescope until she's old enough to lock you out of her room."

Peter laughs loudly at that, joking, "Yeah, I'm gonna be really bummed out when that happens. I hope she'll let me use it. You think she'll become an astronaut and bring her old dad home a star?"

"She'll _try_," Tony entertains the thought.

Peter chuckles and looks around the train station. "Hey, if you saw the guy at the science store again, what would you do?" Peter asks suddenly.

"Talk to him, probably. I kind of regret not going up to him earlier," Tony replies. He did regret it. "But I don't think I'll ever see him again."

Peter frowns, questioning, "Why not?"

"There’s always one person who never pans out. The one person you might have had a shot with, but you didn’t take the chance and now it’s gone," Tony replies. He should have known by now not to take his chances.

"What if he was some huge cosmic sign that slapped you in the face?" Peter asks.

"Maybe some things happen because they just happen. Not everything is some big cosmic sign," Tony insists.

Peter presses his lips together in thought, agreeing, "Not everything’s a cosmic sign, but not everything happens for no reason."

Tony looks up from the ground, asking, "You think everything leads to something?"

Peter nods again, replying, "Yeah. I mean, my mom was huge on this kind of thing when I was growing up, but it’s also from my own experience. If some part of my life never happened, I wouldn’t be here talking to you right now. Things don't just coincide because they do. I mean, I believe both of us being at MacLaren's at the same time after my accident was never a coincidence. It brought us here, after all."

"So, you don’t think coincidences happen?" Tony says after a moment.

"Coincidences are never just that... One thing always leads to another," Peter affirms. "I think people end up where they are for something else to happen."

"I suppose that's true," Tony agrees.

"I don't think you understand how you have literally turned my life around when you introduced me to Thor. I can't imagine any way I could ever repay you, because I wouldn't be alive right now if you never found me that night outside MacLaren's and introduced me to your friends. I have never wanted to live more than I do right now. You _saved my life_, Tony. It's not an easy debt to pay back," Peter leans forward and points across the small train station, asking, "You gave me a chance for a new life, and it's my turn to return the favour." Tony follows Peter's finger to see what he's pointing at and Peter asks, "Is that him?"

A man with black hair and a green jacket, the same one in the science store.

**=== DECEMBER, 2010 ===**

"Merry Christmas, honey," Tony says. Stephen looks around in awe at the decorated home.

He asks, "I thought we already did gift exchange at Carol and Val's place. The watch you got me is enough, Tony."

Tony passes him the medium-sized present, saying, "I think this one's gonna blow that one out of the water, though. Open it."

Stephen gives him a wary look, but opens up the wrapping anyway. He opens up the box to see nothing inside. He jokes, "What, did you get me oxygen?"

Tony feigns surprise, saying, "Oh, silly me. I forgot the gift was on me." He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a ring box, going down on one knee. On the silver band is a beautiful green gem that reminded Stephen of the one in his keychain

"Stephen Vincent Strange, will --"

"Yes," Stephen cuts in, grinning uncontrollably.

Tony laughs, "I haven't finished. Will you --"

"Yes," Stephen answers, already getting emotional.

Tony holds back the urge to just kiss him already and finishes, "Stephen Vincent Strange, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" Stephen says again, meeting Tony halfway to kiss him.

**=== PRESENT DAY ===**

"Go talk to him," Peter encourages.

Tony is about to walk over before he stops himself, saying, "Wait, wait."

Peter raises an eyebrow in question, "What do you mean, _wait_? He’s right there. We just said coincidences don’t happen."

Tony shakes his head, rambling, "No, I know. Coincidences don't exist. But it's just... What if it’s a mistake? What if he’s just gonna be another Steve, another..."

"Another me?" Peter fills in. Tony stares at him silently, but Peter knows he's affirming it. It's no secret to the friend group that Peter is one of, if not the biggest, regret in Tony's love life. None of them knew it more than Peter himself. He exhales softly and says, "Sometimes, you gotta make the mistake to know it’s —"

"— A mistake," Tony cuts in. When Peter looks at him in surprise, Tony chuckles lightly. "I actually said that to Pepper once."

"Then you know," Peter replies. "Talk to him. I know you won’t stop thinking about it if you don’t."

Tony trails off, "Yeah, but..."

"Tony, as the leading expert on regretting never making a move when I could, you should. You’ll never know if you don’t try," Peter says. "This one's gonna be different. I've got a feeling."

"Oh, you've got a _feeling_?" Tony asks, mildly sarcastic. Peter gives him a grin. Two years ago, Tony might have died a little bit inside at that. But it's 2007 now and things were finally _different_. They've all grown and gotten to different places. Thor had a husband and a kid, when nine years ago, he couldn't ever land a serious boyfriend. Loki's on a sold out broadway play when nine years ago, he was still trying to get a good grade in theatre class. Val is landing world-acclaimed clients when nine years ago, she had to pick up bands who could only book cheap shows in smelly basements. Carol has a stable love life and job when nine years ago, she could never get to sleep in the military beds. Matt just won a Supreme Court case when nine years ago, he was staying up late to pass a test in law school. Jessica's _engaged_ when nine years ago, she would never think of something like that. Peter is alive and genuinely happy when nine years ago, he wanted to end it all.

And Tony himself... He could have the rest of his life standing right there in a green jacket when nine years ago, he told himself he was going to fall in love.

"Go, Tony," Peter finally says. "Coincidences don't happen. He's here for a reason."

_Everything happens for a reason_. If Tony never decided to fall in love in 1999, he wouldn't have met Peter, who wouldn't have fallen in love with Thor, and they would never have gotten married and had their daughter, and he wouldn't have been in San Francisco getting her a telescope, and he wouldn't be there at the train station staring at the man in the green jacket.

The folded note in his jacket suddenly feels more obvious than ever. _There is no answer_. Tony stands up and begins to walk over.

_There is no answer. I'm gonna make my own_.

**=== JULY, 2011 ===**

"Here, here. The booth," Val says. Thor grins and squeezes into the booth with Loki, Peter and Jessica. Matt, Carol and Val get in on the other side. Tony pulls an extra chair over so he's in the middle.

Stephen raises the camera and says, "Okay, three, two, one. Perfect." He passes the camera back to Val, who smiles at how good the photo looks. Stephen compliments, taking an extra chair over to the booth to sit across from Tony on the other end, "You look handsome."

"So do you, Mr. Stark-Strange," Tony says, unable to hold back his happiness.

"Alright. Valkyrie, Odinson, pay up," Jessica says, loosening up the collar and tie on the suit she wore to the wedding.

"Pay up for what?" Loki asks.

Thor sighs, passing Jessica 20 dollars. He says to Val, "Do you remember in 1999, when Tony asked us to place bets on him meeting his future partner? Jess bet it would be a man and Tony wouldn't meet him in MacLaren's."

She smacks her forehead, recalling the bet, "You are on another wavelength, Jess."

Jessica smirks, claiming her 40 dollars from Val and Thor, "I told you. I never lose my bets."

Carol grins, watching the exchange, and says, "I can't believe it, though. I'm finally on my best friend's wedding day."

Rhodey shares her smile, "Nobody deserves this more than Tony."

"Thanks, Platypus," Tony beams. He can't be more glad that he's there now, with Stephen Strange.

"You know what happened in this bar? All kinds of stuff," Val says, everyone turning to listen to her. "Bets on Tony's love life, introductions to our boyfriends and girlfriends, interventions, life-changing decisions, careers, confessions... And now, Tony's last wedding photo." She smiles -- it's the first time they've seen her look so emotional since Meredith's birth -- and finishes, "I'm so lucky I got to see it all."

"I agree. To everyone at this table, I love you guys so much. And to Anthony Edward Stark, a man with more emotional endurance than anyone I know," Thor smiles, raising his glass. Everyone copies him, raising their glasses as well in toast, and he continues, "It was a long, difficult road. Thank God we finally got here."

> "Uncle Thor was half-right. It was a long road. You might even say it was really, really, really, really long. But difficult? Nah. It's life. Stuff happens in life. Things fall apart. Things get put back together.
> 
> "When I think about how lucky I am to wake up next to your father every morning, I can't help but be amazed at how easy it all really was.
> 
> "All I had to do was decide to fall in love, go to the bar, ask out your uncle Matt, get a cup of coffee for Thor, meet Peter, introduce Thor and Bruce, go camping with my friends, go to Bruce's Christmas party, break up with Matt, convince Peter to fall in love with me, get dumped by Peter, fall out with Thor, get hit by a car, get rejected, go on the rebound, get engaged, get left at the altar, let Peter move in, date the wrong person, teach the wrong class, date the wrong person again. Date the wrong person a few times, actually, beg Peter to stay in New York, help my intern with a girl, talk to my ex-fiancé, drive Peter to Knowhere, let uncle Peter fall in love with uncle Thor, let uncle Thor fall in love with uncle Peter, go to their wedding, leave a little early, give the apartment to Thor, welcome your cousin Meredith, get held up in a meeting, convince Peter to help me, buy Meredith a telescope from San Francisco, buy a train ticket back to New York, be in the right place at the right time, and somehow, summon the guts to do the stupidest, most impossible thing in the world: Walk up to that handsome man standing in the green jacket... and start talking."

"Hey," Tony says. "I'm --"

"Wait, I know you. You're the one-time nanotech lecturer at the university, right?" Stephen cuts in.

Tony looks surprised and asks, "You were in my lecture?"

"Room 616," Stephen replies, smiling slightly.

"I didn't teach room 616 --" Tony cuts himself off and turns red with embarrassment, looking towards the train track, "Okay, I'm gonna go ahead and jump down there now."

"No, no, you were good. Made me want to study nanotech, if I'm honest," Stephen laughs. Tony gives him a moderately shy smile and gets distracted by the book in his hand.

He says, "I can't help but notice your book, I had the exact one."

Stephen smiles, "Oh, it's a good book. I've been reading it for a while."

Tony agrees, "It really is. Sad thing, I lost my copy years ago."

Stephen thinks back before he realises something, filling in, "At the airport in 1999."

"I did. How did you know?" Tony asks, and then he looks at the book. "Is my name..." Stephen flips the book to the dedication page, where, written in black gel ink, is 'TONY STARK'.

"Oh, wow," Stephen says, before he quickly passes the book back to him. "Guess I should return this."

"No, you keep it. I've read it enough times that I know it backwards and forwards. If you like it, have it," Tony says. Stephen smiles gratefully, taking the book back. Tony continues, "Hey, while we're on the subject, that's my jacket you're wearing. I left it at an ex's place, I think."

Stephen smiles, amused, "No, this is _my_ jacket."

Tony points to the gold 'S' on the breast and says, "See that 'S'? Stands for Stark."

Stephen corrects, "The 'S' stands for Stephen, actually. Or Strange."

Tony nods, taunting, "Yeah, strange. Strange how the jacket's actually mine."

"No, strange that you think it's yours," Stephen fires back, but it's obvious they're both enjoying the teasing. "But... I did lose it for a few years. I think I left it at my friend's party..."

"Bruce Banner's Christmas party in 2000?" Tony asks, eyes widening.

Stephen's mouth falls open in surprise -- _how many other times had their lives crossed paths?_ He says absently, "Yeah..."

Tony says, "I left it at --"

"Christine's apartment after she broke up with you," Stephen mumbles. "You were her mystery boyfriend, you liked my AC/DC CD and lightsaber bookmark." His gaze falls onto a golden keychain with a green gem inside of it hanging out of Tony's pocket and he says, "And that's mine."

"Oh, shit," Tony mumbles, taking the keychain off his key ring. "How many things of each other's do we have?"

Stephen jokes, "Everything we own is each other's by now, I imagine." He takes the keychain from Tony and says, "I actually lost it just last year, I..."

"You left it on the train back to New York," Tony fills in.

Stephen repeats absently, "I left it on the train back to New York."

Tony loses himself in Stephen's blue eyes as he whispers, "And you never thought you'd see it again."

"And I never thought I'd see it again," Stephen says quietly. "Funny how you just... find things." They stare into each other's eyes for a few moments, seeing all the times they'd passed one another from the lost book to the green jacket.

Tony catches himself staring and laughs nervously, Stephen following suit. "Um, hi."

"Hi," Stephen returns, grinning.

> "See? Easy. And that, kids, is how I met your father."

**HOW I MET STEPHEN STRANGE**

by castielfalls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lessons Tony had to learn:  
1) Move on when it's time to  
2) It's not about you  
3) The one thing in life you can't control is life itself  
4) There is no answer  
5) Everything happens for a reason
> 
> Thank you for reading all the way to the end. I can't believe I finished it and I can't believe it's over. I'm gonna miss writing this. It really means so damn much to me. Your comments always make my day :)
> 
> I have a Twitter, @timestcne if you want to talk about anything (the fic, Marvel, or whatever)
> 
> After this is the soundtrack (music I spent a long time collating together to make the reading experience more like a TV show) and a huge list of callbacks, foreshadows and just fun additional information about the fic. Both of which, I hope you will enjoy reading about.
> 
> Again, thank you so much. I hope this final chapter lived up to your expectations. 
> 
> <3


	46. Soundtrack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Qdb25i7oMpofgyAAIQ7o0?si=o55CMmTSS8W7oH8dbNFS_g

**1999**

_Tip the first domino and everything else will fall in line._

* * *

Wrong — Randy Clark & Sons

> 1x1: 7:30 In The Evening
> 
> "There he was."

Annie's Song — John Denver

> 1x3: Come Again Soon
> 
> Peter Quill in Knowhere

Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop — Landon Pigg

> 1x3: Come Again Soon
> 
> "You've got cake on your face."

Escape (The Piña Colada Song) — Rupert Holmes

> 1x4: I'm Alright, Thanks 
> 
> Peter Quill in Knowhere

Rewind — Goldspot

> 1x4: I'm Alright, Thanks
> 
> Peter Quill in Knowhere

Can’t Stand The Rain — The Rescues

> 1x6: Happy New Year, Tony
> 
> "The great moments of your life won't necessarily be the things you do, they'll also be the things that happen to you."

* * *

**2000**

_It is only through seeking that we find what we are looking for._

* * *

All Die Young — Smith Westerns

> 2x2: A Day And A Half
> 
> "Maybe we should."

Fooled Around And Fell In Love — Elvin Bishop

> 2x3: Ripple Effect
> 
> “If I’m dancing, you’re coming with me.”

This Is It — Scotty McCreery

> 2x3: Ripple Effect
> 
> "As I walked home in the green jacket that didn't belong to me, I thought about how life was going."

* * *

**2001**

_You can’t force destiny. If it’s gonna happen, it’ll happen._

* * *

Be My Baby — The Ronettes

> 3x2: It's Better This Way
> 
> Carol walks into MacLaren's

Not Him — Tyler, Daisy Clark

> 3x3: 2:43AM
> 
> "Look, I know, the odds are, the love of my life isn't going to magically walk by at 2:43 in the morning. But it just seems as nice a spot as any to just, you know, sit and wait."

* * *

**2002**

_When someone leaves, it’s because someone else is about to arrive._

* * *

April Come She Will — Simon & Garfunkel

> 4x1: Red Velvet Cake
> 
> Peter Quill in Knowhere

The Funeral — Band of Horses

> 4x3: Star-Lord
> 
> "The moment your uncle Peter picked up the phone is the first time he ever broke down in his long and difficult life."

Quill — The Last Bison

> 4x4: And There He Was
> 
> "Kids, this is just one of those rare moments in life where things, quite literally, fall into place, just the way fate would have it."

Dead Wrong — The Fray

> 4x4: And There He Was
> 
> "Please. Call me Steve."

Because I Love You — The Master's Apprentices

> 4x4: And There He Was
> 
> "I came home, and they had fallen asleep together on the couch watching Indiana Jones, so I just kissed Peter on his forehead, said goodnight and went to bed."

* * *

**2003**

_I can learn to pity a fool as I’m the worst of all._

* * *

Thirteen — Big Star

> 5x1: New Beginnings
> 
> Peter Quill in Valhalla

Here Comes The Sun — The Beatles

> 5x2: La Vie En Rose
> 
> Peter Quill at Loki's apartment

La Vie En Rose (Cover) — Daniela Andrade

> 5x2: La Vie En Rose
> 
> Peter Quill at Loki's apartment

House of Cards — Tyler Shaw

> 5x4: The Second That Would Never End
> 
> "Sometimes hours can feel like minutes and sometimes, a single second can last a lifetime. For Peter, the second that would never end was this one."

* * *

**2004**

_Sometimes, things have to fall apart to make way for better things._

* * *

Museum of Flight — Damien Jurado

> 6x1: Before You Lose Something
> 
> “Yeah. All I ever loved.”

This Year’s Love — David Gray

> 6x2: I Wish I Wasn’t
> 
> “If you have to know, I was in Missouri. For therapy.”

Telephone Line — Electric Light Orchestra

> 6x3: How I Met Everyone Else
> 
> “I’d really like to hire you at Asgard as a singer.”

Africa — TOTO

> 6x3: How I Met Everyone Else
> 
> Val and Trish Walker at the bar karaoke

Cottonmouth — Pete Atkin

> 6x3: How I Met Everyone Else
> 
> Peter and Jessica at the Heroes for Hire concert

(Nice Dream) — Radiohead

> 6x3: How I Met Everyone Else
> 
> "And just like that, it all came back."

We Will Become Silhouettes — The Postal Service

> 6x4: Nothing Good Happens After 2AM
> 
> "I know it's late, but will you let me in?"

You're Just In Love (I Wonder Why) — Perry Como

> 6x5: Nervous
> 
> "I'm here for the wedding. Steve invited me."

When a Man Loves a Woman — Percy Sledge

> 6x5: Nervous
> 
> "No, Thor. You don't understand. I'm on a train back to New York City."

Let Your Heart Hold Fast — Fort Atlantic

> 6x6: Never Fear
> 
> Peter Quill in Asgard

Prophets — A.C. Newman

> 6x7: The Best Year Of My Life
> 
> "That was the year I got hit by a car. The year I got rejected by Peter Quill again. The year I got left at the altar. And damn it, if it wasn't the best year of my life."

* * *

**2005**

_Maybe it would be easier to let it slip. Let it go. Say “I give up” one last time and give him a sad smile._

* * *

Rivers And Roads — The Head and the Heart

> 7x1: It's Time To Grow Up
> 
> "I'm moving to Los Angeles."

What Would I Do Without You — Drew Holcomb & The Neighbours

> 7x2: Window Never Opened Again
> 
> "It wasn't about me."

This Man He Weeps Tonight — Dave Davies

> 7x2: Window Never Opened Again
> 
> "Going home, actually."

Pretty Girl — Strays Don't Sleep

> 7x2: Window Never Opened Again 
> 
> "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there."

Marry Me — Train

> 7x2: Window Never Opened Again
> 
> "Thor!"

Fly Me To The Moon — Frank Sinatra

> 7x3: Don't Wait For Him
> 
> Peter Quill in Asgard

Don't Wait for Him — Side Saddle

> 7x3: Don't Wait For Him
> 
> “Thought I would find you here."

Eight Days A Week — The Beatles

> 7x4: Twenty Countdown
> 
> "I hope you like the Beatles."

O-o-h Child — The Five Stairsteps

> 7x4: Twenty Countdown
> 
> "Turn that up, babe."

You're All Alone — John Swihart

> 7x4: Twenty Countdown
> 
> “Your mom, she's... she didn't make it home."

Simple Man — Jason Manns and Jensen Ackles

> 7x5: Anthony
> 
> Peter and Tony in Maria’s room

Departures N1 — Dustin O’Halloran

> 7x5: Anthony
> 
> The sound of her pocket

* * *

**2006**

_The truth was, he now belonged only to my past, and it was time I begin to accept it, as much as it hurt to do so._

* * *

Creep — Radiohead

> 8x2: Move Forward
> 
> "Hello, Tony."

Flightless Bird, American Mouth — Iron & Wine

> 8x3: The Quill
> 
> The single greatest word in the English language

Hooked On A Feeling — Blue Swede

> 8x5: Me Likey
> 
> Peter and Rocket karaoke

Two Weeks — Grizzly Bear

> 8x7: Second Greatest Love Story
> 
> "And then Peter proceeded to tell me the second greatest love story ever told."

Bring It On Home To Me — Sam Cooke

> 8x7: Second Greatest Love Story
> 
> First dance

Don't Be Shy — Cat Stevens

> 8x7: Second Greatest Love Story
> 
> “It's a perfect fit.”

Wonderwall — Oasis

> 8x7: Second Greatest Love Story
> 
> "You don't realise just how close something you were looking for has always been."

* * *

**2007**

_The last domino finally falls._

* * *

Caught On Fire — Holmes

> 9x1: Smartest Move
> 
> "When something's gone, the only thing we can really do is move forward.”

We Don’t Eat (Acoustic) — James Vincent McMorrow

> 9x2: Ghost Free
> 
> Dear Thor,

Gray Flowers— The Gray Havens

> 9x2: Ghost Free
> 
> “No, we didn't always stay within an hour of our usual booth.”

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Cover) — George Michael

> 9x3: I Hope You Like Your Name
> 
> “You are the love of my life… Everything I have and everything I am is yours.”

Dear Winter 2.0 — AJR

> 9x3: I Hope You Like Your Name
> 
> Dear James/Morgan,

Surrender — Cheap Trick

> 9x4: I’m Going To Fall In Love
> 
> “Peter Quill, I challenge you to a dance-off.”

Threnody — Goldmund

> 9x4: I’m Going To Fall In Love
> 
> "My name is Tony Stark and I'm going to fall in love with you in thirty days."

Hey, I'm Stephen — King Cedar

> 9x5: How Your Father Met Me
> 
> "I don't know. Nobody can ever know how to get it all to work out, really... But when you meet the right person, it just does."

I Don't Want to Know — Fleetwood Mac

> 9x5: How Your Father Met Me
> 
> “And he did find it again. He’ll find it again in December.”

Father McKenzie — The Brook & The Bluff

> 9x6: How I Met Your Father
> 
> It's not about me

Island Song — Adventure Time

> 9x6: How I Met Your Father
> 
> Better godfather

Back Then — B Story

> 9x6: How I Met Your Father
> 
> The note in his drawer

Sink to the Bottom — Fountains Of Wayne

> 9x6: How I Met Your Father
> 
> A very boring sitcom

My Life, My Love — Family and Friends

> 9x6: How I Met Your Father
> 
> Oh, silly me.

Viva Voce — The Rocketboys

> 9x6: How I Met Your Father
> 
> When nine years ago,

And There She Was — The Solids & John Swihart

> 9x6: How I Met Your Father
> 
> To Anthony Edward Stark, a man with more emotional endurance than anyone I know

Marigold — Mother Falcon

> 9x6: How I Met Your Father
> 
> If there were end credits music, I would like this to be it


	47. Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foreshadows, callbacks and other fun facts <3 Hope you enjoy the detail

**WITHOUT SOUNDTRACK**

Two people play the role of Robin Scherbatsky in this story; Matt and Peter. Matt for being the first person dated in the series who ends up joining the friend group, and Peter as the most prominent love interest (aside from Stephen himself) for the majority of the series. Other than two people sharing the role of Robin, the other roles are filled by one person each. Tony is Ted Mosby (main man), Thor is Marshall Eriksen (Ted's best friend), Val is Lily Aldrin (in HIMYM, Marshall's wife, but considered his best friend as well) and Jessica is Barney Stinson (the one who rarely has serious relationships but ended up in one).

Most of Tony's romantic partners across the story have a HIMYM counterpart. Stephen is Tracy, Matt is Robin (with meeting at the bar and becoming part of the group), Peter is Robin (recurring love interest) and Victoria (one magical night and then finding her again later on, but breaking up as one of them loved someone else instead), Christine is Cindy (student from the class Ted wrongly teaches), Steve is Stella (early engagement and then getting left at the altar for a former lover). Pepper is not reminiscent of anyone.

I spent probably over two months preparing the full timeline of the story. Originally it was set from 1997 to 2012. You can see that I've rearranged events and ended up with 1999 to 2007.

Peter almost poses as a foreshadow for Tony's life. Peter gets into a car accident in 2001 and Tony gets into one in 2004. Peter's mother dies in 2003 and Tony's mother dies in 2005.

Every chapter is named after something a character/Future Tony says in the chapter itself except for **Twenty Countdown**, where Tony gets the news that Maria passed away, **Nervous**, where Steve leaves Tony at the altar and **The Quill**, where Thor proposes to Peter. They are the three events in Tony's life that impacted him the most. The only other one is **How Your Father Met Me**, but it's not from Future Tony's P.O.V, but Stephen's.

In **Me Likey**, Rocket says Las Vegas gives him bad memories. It's an Easter Egg to Rocket's voice actor Bradley Cooper's _The Hangover_ trilogy, where his character Phil and his three friends spend the first movie getting shitfaced and fucking up in Las Vegas, which is where Peter's bachelor party is.

In **The Quill**, Peter is standing underneath Venus. Venus is chosen as the Greek goddess who shares a name with that planet is the Goddess of Love.

In **Second Greatest Love Story**, Tony says Peter and Thor's love story is the second greatest one. That's because he thinks he and Stephen's is greater than theirs. (And he would be right, because while Thor and Peter's love story comes from years of mutual pining, Stephen and Tony were fated from the beginning, lives intertwining for ten years and changes taking them to the right places at the right times, until the day they meet).

In **How I Met Your Father**, Peter points out Stephen to Tony, who walks over to talk to him. I wanted to use that scene as a visual, kind of poetic(?), representation of Tony moving on from Peter, walking away from him (leaving him in his past for good) so he could get to Stephen.

* * *

**WITH SOUNDTRACK**

In **Star-Lord**, when Peter gets a call about his mother, the song playing is called _The Funeral_.

In **And There He Was**, the song that plays when Thor finds Peter is called _Quill_.

In **How I Met Everyone Else**_, (Nice Dream)_ by Radiohead plays while Tony thinks about the romantic memories he has with Peter. _Nice Dream_ as the title; Tony has to wake up eventually and move on.

In **Don't Wait For Him**, the song that plays when Tony finds out Peter and Thor are dating is called _Don't Wait for Him_ by _Side Saddle_, which includes a line that says "There are a lot of things you have left to do but don't wait for him to love you." Matt later tells Tony to stop waiting for Peter to love him back and to move on.

In **Anthony**, the song that plays when Tony processes that Maria is dead, the song playing is called _You're All Alone_.

In **Anthony**, the song that plays when Tony rants about Maria being dead and her final voicemail begins to play, the song playing is called _Departures N1_.

In **Second Greatest Love Story**, the song that plays when Peter recounts his story with Thor is the same one that plays in the original show, _Two Weeks_ by Grizzly Bear, when Maggie tells Ted the story of her and the man that she ended up marrying. Both stories are dubbed the "second greatest love story". (Though in Tony's case, the greatest one is his own and for Ted, the greatest one is Marshall and Lily's). (This is also not the only reference made to Maggie's love story. Ted refers to Maggie's story as "the second greatest love story [Ted] ever heard" and Tony refers to Peter and Thor's story as "the second greatest love story ever told". In **Window Never Opened Again**, the final line "Peter's window never opened again" is the same thing Ted said about Maggie, as she ends up marrying her boyfriend, which is what Peter and Thor end up doing.)

* * *

**CALL-BACKS**

In **7:30 In The Evening**, Jessica makes a bet that the person Tony will marry is not only a man, but Tony won't meet him at MacLaren's. In **How I Met Your Father**, Thor and Val give Jessica $20 in the final scene.

In **The Mistake,** Tony said that Val jokes about how she often wondered if, if Thor or Tony gets into a car accident, the other would land in hospital. In **Before You Lose Something**, Val makes a call-back to the joke, saying that Thor didn't end up in hospital despite Tony being there.

In **Come Again Soon**, Val says, "That guy [Peter] you [Jessica] talked to at the concert, I totally owe him for that review he told you. If I ever see him again, I'm buying him a drink." In **Red Velvet Cake**, Val finally buys Peter that drink.

In **I'm Alright, Thanks**, Peter suggests Asgard as a name for Thor's café to Tony, the name Thor ultimately uses. In **Red Velvet Cake**, Peter reveals to Thor that he is the one who suggested Asgard as the name.

In **Darth Vader**, somebody walks past Tony in his Darth Vader costume and says, "That Darth Vader is so cool. I should have come as a Star Wars character." In **How Your Father Met Me**, it's revealed that it was Stephen who said that.

In** Don't Wait For Him**, Jessica asks Matt to pay up on a bet. Peter asks what it's about and she tells him he'll know one day. In **Not Fair At All**, Jessica reveals to Tony that the bet was that Peter would end up marrying Thor and not Tony, and she had won the bet.

In **A Day and A Half**, Val meets some campers, one of which is called Fandral. In **The Quill**, it's revealed he's actually Thor's ex from high school.

In **You're Drifting**, Peter mentions one of his nightmare exes, "Quentin from art school. He was awful.". In **How I Met Everyone Else**, Peter tells Jessica that "Quentin wants to see me" and says that "he's not the best, but the sex is pretty good". In **Not Fair At All**, Quentin finally makes his appearance, and makes a point to bring up his old hook-ups with Peter.

In **Darth Vader**, after Peter kisses Tony at the Halloween party, Future Tony says "It's so weird looking back on this party now... knowing what I know about everyone." In **It's Time To Grow Up**, Thor reveals that he tried to kiss Peter at the party.

* * *

**PARALLELS**

In **A Day and A Half**, Thor says Bruce complained about his music playing too loudly. In **Twenty Countdown**, Peter tells Thor to turn up the volume on his music.

In **7:30 In The Evening**, Tony says "There he was" about Matt. In **And There He Was**, Tony says "And there he was" about Peter. In **How I Met Your Father**, the song that plays when Tony meets Stephen is called "And there she was." These three are Tony's three best relationships.

In **2:43AM**, Tony finds Peter by a chance encounter and ends up dating him. In **And There He Was**, Thor finds Peter by a chance encounter too, and also ends up dating him.

* * *

**FORESHADOWS**

In **7:30 In The Evening,** Tony announces that he is going to fall in love at 7:30 in the evening. In **How I Met Your Father**, Stephen and Tony meet at 7:30 in the evening, and Tony falls in love.

In **Come Again Soon**, Peter is singing _Annie's Song_ by John Denver. There is a line that says, "_You fill up my senses (...) like a walk in the rain_". In **I'm Alright, Thanks**, Peter is singing _Escape (The Piña Colada Song)_ by Rupert Holmes. There is a line that says, "_If you like (...) getting caught in the rain_." In **Red Velvet Cake**, Peter is singing _April Come She Will_ by Simon & Garfunkel. There is a line that says, "_When streams are ripe and swelled with rain_." In **And There He Was**, Peter realises he's irretrievably in love with Thor while the two of them are in the rain. Throughout the whole story, Tony has never been caught in the rain with Peter.

In **Darth Vader**, Tony goes to the Halloween party as Darth Vader and Thor goes as Anakin Skywalker; the same character but in different eras. Similarly, they were both Peter's boyfriend but at different times. Tony even says Thor should have gone as Chewie, who is Han Solo's lifelong companion, when Peter went as Han. Similarly, Peter and Thor end up as lifelong partners when they get married.

In **7:30 In The Evening**, the song that plays when Matt walks in is called _Wrong_. In** 2:43AM**, the song that plays when Peter walks by is called _Not Him_. In **And There He Was**, the song that plays when Steve meets Tony is called _Dead Wrong_. In **Ripple Effect**, the song that plays when Tony wears Stephen's jacket home is called _This Is It_.

In **2:43AM**, Tony finds Peter again at 2:43AM. In **How Your Father Met Me**, Stephen sees Tony for the first time at the airport in April 1999 at 2:43PM.

In **Twenty Countdown**, there is a countdown from twenty to zero throughout the chapter leading up to the moment Thor breaks the news to Tony that Maria has passed away. Carol pays **20** bucks for the ELO cassette, Pepper says Thor looks **19** in the photo, Tony teases Thor about not sleeping on a couch if he wasn't **18**, Peter jokes about how all he did when he was **17** was cry. Tony and Peter switched rooms **16** days before. Pepper texts Tony **15** minutes before he reads the message. Pepper waits for Tony in conference room **14**. Pepper informs Tony that he has **13** incomplete contracts before she quits. Matt has been at the boxing ring since **12** Tony talks to Maria at **11**PM. Maria took **10** years to master piano. Tony wakes up at **9**AM. Peter sings **Eight** Days A Week by The Beatles. Tony's father first hit him when he was **7**. Jessica is drinking at **6**PM. O-o-h Child by The **Five** Stairsteps starts playing. Peter talks about how there are **4 **Ninja Turtles. Maria says the past **3** days have been nice. Maria says she will come back to visit in **2** months. Thor tells Tony it's **1**AM when asked for the time, and then he finally breaks the news that Maria is dead.

In **Don't Wait For Him**, Peter sings _Fly Me To The Moon_ by Frank Sinatra, where there's elements of space mentioned like stars, Jupiter and Mars. In **The Quill**, Thor proposes to Peter with space elements. In **How I Met Your Father**, it's also implied that Meredith has pursued studies in aeronautics and space.


End file.
